Never Say Never: Where We Belong
by TheWriter51
Summary: Count Olaf is finally in prison and Jamie Murray and her friends begin rebuilding their lives. Then again, moving on from tragedy is an uphill battle, especially for Jamie. With Hogwarts in the future, Jamie, Klaus, Melissa and Fiona are eager to escape and explore the world of magic, far away from any danger—Or so they think. (slight crossover with ASOUE) (KBxOCxDM)(Pt 7 of fic)
1. Begin Again

**It's finally here! The Harry Potter part! :) **

**R&R and ENJOY!**

**The theme songs for the Harry Potter part is "Hear Me Now" by Secondhand Serenade and "Say (All I Need)" by One Republic. And since I can't get enough of music/character theme songs, Jamie's theme song is "Rabbit Heart (Raise it Up)" by Florence + the Machine.**

**Summary:** **Now that Count Olaf has been sentenced to life in prison, Jamie and her friends are able to start rebuilding their lives at their new home in Britain. Then again, moving on from tragedy is an uphill battle, especially for Jamie. With Hogwarts in the future, Jamie, Klaus, Melissa, and Fiona are eager to escape and explore the world of magic, far away from any danger—Or so they think. (KBxOCxDM)**

* * *

**Chapter One: Begin Again**

It felt like our lives were changed forever. Count Olaf was removed from our lives once and for all, we were headed to a new home in Britain, and Klaus and I would be going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Yet, no matter how far away Count Olaf seemed, I still couldn't seem to get him out of my head. All I wanted was to forget about everything that had happened and move on. But of course, that wasn't possible.

The news of Count Olaf's arrest and our story went public, especially since Lemony published all the books he wrote about our experiences. He titled the books_, A Series of Unfortunate Events,_ and for some reason the publishing company mistook the books for a children's series. People were shocked by our story. No one had ever heard something so outrageous. Klaus was interested in reading some of the books, but I wasn't. I couldn't bare to relive those moments in any shape or form. I couldn't even look at the cover of my notebook without hurrying to store it away somewhere I wouldn't find it. I considered destroying it altogether, but I also couldn't find it in me to get rid of it completely.

Renée brought us to London and we stayed there for a few days to explore the city. When we arrived, there was another trial happening to determine Count Olaf's sentence that we weren't required to attend. He was sentenced to life in prison. I remember watching the news report with the others. I wouldn't have watched it. But I wanted to make sure that Count Olaf was really still in prison and hadn't escaped. The others were happy with the sentence and I was too, of course, but for some strange reason, I felt like I was seeing Count Olaf locked up in that birdcage again and I burst into tears as if it were my own sentence. Renée grew increasingly worried when I couldn't stop trembling in grief and was talking about things like therapy after all that we've been through. But I told her I didn't need therapy. I didn't want to sit face-to-face with someone who I barely know and tell them about how guilty I felt every time I even thought about the word 'trial'. No one could possibly understand what I went through.

I hoped the students at Hogwarts wouldn't know too much about me. I didn't want my first impression to be that orphan-girl-who-was-kidnapped-by-a-notorious-villa in-trying-to-steal-her-fortune. I had enough to worry about like how I was going to learn magic. I thought that my Matilda powers were it, but according to Renée magic consisted of a number of areas of study, and casting spells was something very complex and must be practiced. I was more than excited to be able to learn all about magic, but if I couldn't cast a single spell, Dumbledore would surely change his mind and kick me out if I failed. But I guess Melissa had more to worry about. She had missed her first and second year, partially because of us, and had a lot to catch up on. Professor Dumbledore had suggested that Melissa take extra classes to make up for it.

After our visit to London, Renée drove us to her home in Wiltshire, England. After driving for hours through the countryside dotted with homes of all shapes and sizes, we reached our new home. Renée drove the car through a perfectly straight and long drive way surrounded by tall trees on either side until we reached a wrought iron gate, which opened wide, letting her drive through to the gorgeous grey-stoned mansion that sat before us. Ivy grew on the sides, intertwining to form peculiar shapes. The grounds around it were expansive and meticulously cared for.

Renée led us into the grand foyer, and gave us a tour of at least a bit of the house, which had more rooms than Esmé's penthouse. She said she would show us the rest later since it was getting late and tomorrow we were going to Diagon Alley to buy supplies. But she warned us that the house had a lot of ancient magic enchantments and to tell her if we noticed anything odd happening.

"This is a beautiful home," Klaus said, "Thank you very much for letting all of us stay here."

"It's my pleasure, children," Renée said, with a smile. "I want you to be happy. So while you're here, please, help yourselves to anything. Make yourselves at home."

Renée brought us into the kitchen, which was as stunning as the rest of the house, where we saw a small creature with large brown eyes.

"This is Cathex, he's a house elf," Renée explained.

"Hello Cathex," I said, holding my hand out to the elf. He seemed surprised by the gesture, but shook my hand with his tiny, bony one. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Jamie Murray."

"Hello, Miss Jamie Murray," Cathex said.

"He's responsible for doing chores around the house," Renée said, "Please treat him with great kindness. He's also our friend."

"Why should Cathex have to take care of this entire house?" I asked. "I don't want him to be treated that way."

"Me neither," Renée said, "but I learned that most house elves, particularly the ones who have good masters, want to work. They always need to be working to feel happy. It insults them if they are relieved of work. But just treat him with kindness, which I trust you will, and try not to make a huge mess."

Renée asked Cathex to help them cook dinner and then, of course, asked Sunny if she would like to assist them. Renée, Cathex, and Sunny quickly prepared us a meal. The rest of us helped set the table and we sat down at the kitchen table to eat as if we were a typical family, talking excitedly about our day and Beatrice sitting in the highchair, spilling food all over herself and squealing in delight. Cathex was given a seat as well, and dined with us, though he seemed uncomfortable about it. I still didn't feel good about letting Cathex do chores, having been in his shoes a number of times, but promised myself to make it easier for him by making my bed every morning and keeping things tidy whenever I could.

Renée told us more about her life before we came to live with her. Renée worked at the Ministry of Magic and in the Muggle world she began a career in fashion, having started her own clothing line inspired by the wizarding world. I started to see the resemblance between her and Esmé.

After dinner, Renée continued her tour, leading us upstairs. Before she showed us our bedrooms, however, she stopped by a pair of wooden doors and pushed them open to reveal probably our new favorite room: The library, of course.

There were cherry oak wooden shelves almost overflowing with books, covering the walls. On the far side, was a small spiral staircase leading to a balcony where more shelves covered the walls. In the center of the room were two cozy grey sofas facing each other with a small, coffee table sitting in between them on top of an elegant rug. More chairs were positioned around the room and some reading lamps.

Klaus looked around in amazement. I loved to see him so happy.

"This is incredible," Klaus said, in bewilderment. "There are so many books, I don't know where to start."

"Be careful," I said jokingly. "Klaus will never want to leave now."

"Will we be allowed to use the library?" Duncan asked, who seemed equally excited. "Just think how much information I could gather."

"I hope there are poetry books," Isadora said, "I love writing couplets and I would love to study some great poets."

"There will probably be some great information on cartography," Quigley said, "I would love to study some maps."

"And mushrooms and fungi," Fiona said, "There must be a section on mycology."

"I would love to read about some great inventors," Violet added.

"I hope there are some cook books," Sunny said.

"I hope there are some play books," I said, "Or classics."

Beatrice even squealed in delight. "Rehul!" she cried, meaning, "I may not be able to read yet. But I do hope there are some picture books for me to look at."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Melissa said, "I hope there are books about magic."

"Yes, yes, of course," Renée said, with a smile. "There are books on nearly every subject." Renée said. "From mycology to cooking, it's all here. And there are also plenty of books on magic. Why don't you all look around while I show Jamie, Klaus, Fiona, and Melissa the books on magic?"

The others excitedly, began to look around and pick out some of the books.

Renée showed us a secret wall to the side. She pulled out what looked like a short wooden stick, which must be a wand, and aimed it at the wall, making a swishing movement so that it opened like a pair of sliding doors. Renée led us inside, where yet another library.

"This is a very old library," Renée said, "it was built centuries ago and it contains a number of ancient books on magic. These books are very different than Muggle ones. They have minds of their own sometimes."

"Muggles?" I asked.

Renée smiled. "It's a term used for non-magical wizards. You still have a lot to learn about the world of magic but you all seem like avid readers. I'm sure you'll be able to understand everything you need to know in no time at all."

"I can't wait to start reading," Klaus said, and I thought he was going to faint with happiness. "I thought I knew a lot, but now there's an entirely new world to research. Which book would you recommend reading first?"

"How about _Hogwarts: A History_?" Renée suggested and left to pull it from its shelf. She placed the book in Klaus' hands and he stared at it as if he just won it from the lottery.

I went ahead to search along the shelves, mesmerized by the captivating titles. I picked up a book about Charms. We all began reading our selected book until it was time to go to bed.

We picked our own rooms. Though Sunny requested to share a room with Beatrice. My room was beautiful. Lovely, crisp white walls stretched all around the room, complimenting the light hardwood floors. A fluffy white rug lay on the floor, adding more warmth. My white double sized bed was dotted with white and turquoise ornamental pillows embroidered with intricate patterns, one of them including the initial J. A turquoise throw stretched on the end of the bed. It also had a new pair of light-pink, silk pajamas folded neatly on it and matching, cozy slippers. There was a white cushioned ottoman resting at the end of my bed. On the far wall was a window seat with turquoise curtains and more ornamental pillows. Small bookshelves framed the window seat on either side, already stalked with a few books. There was a door leading to my own bathroom.

I felt tears well up in my eyes. I loved my room. And this time it was really _my _room. No one else's. I've never had my own room before, let alone my own bathroom, at least not since my parents died. I loved to finally have a place to really call my own. I finally had a _home_.

I entered my room, still gazing all around. This room couldn't be meant for me.

I unpacked some of my belongings, which wasn't much, but when I opened the drawers of my dresser, I found that they were full of brand new clothes. I began feeling a little uneasy. I'm grateful to have them, but I didn't want Renée spending so much money on me. I sighed and got ready for bed. I slid on the cozy pajamas, deciding I would bring it up another time. As I got ready, I came across my notebook. I stared at the cover, worn now from being taken from place to place. This is another part of my past that I want to avoid. I wanted a clean slate—a fresh start. and I can't do that if I cling on to this notebook that only feels like a shackle, tying me to my past. I have to get rid of it. I almost considered burning it. Instead, I went to hide it inside the window seat, which I was happy to discover, was hollow.

I couldn't wait to jump into my soft, cozy bed and get a goodnight's sleep. I almost forgot what it felt like to sleep in a bed. I closed my eyes, dreaming about my wonderful new home and the adventures I would have in Diagon Alley. I fell fast asleep. But then, I heard a sinister noise coming from outside my bedroom window. And then, _he_ was there, crawling through my window and standing over my bed, his eyes shiny and a wicked grin on his face.

"No!" I cried. "You're supposed to be in jail! No!"

"We'll see about that," I heard his scratchy voice say like the last time I had seen him. "After all, you deserve to be there."

"No, no, no," I cried.

I began to feel like I was suffocating and I tried to hide under the covers as if they would protect me, but Olaf still grabbed me from my bed. I kicked and screamed, but no sound came out and my attempts to squirm were useless. He dragged me to the window and I noticed a large wooden crate waiting for me at the bottom with the two-faced associate and all I could do was stare frightfully into that dark opening in the box as I was thrown inside.

"I'll be watching you," he said as the darkness in the box transformed into an eye.

My body jerked as I shot upright in bed, my eyes wide and breathing heavily as if I had really been suffocating. My heart raced and I had to wait a few moments for it to calm down. I couldn't stop shaking. I glanced at the window. Nothing was there except for the silvery moon sitting high in the sky.

_It was just a dream_, I told myself, _it was only a dream._

I got out of bed, hastily closing the window and locking it tight, before scurrying back to the safety of my bed. I pulled the warm, white covers higher over my head and tried to go back to sleep. But every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Count Olaf standing over my bed 's shiny eyes from the last time I'd seen him.

I sat up again with a sigh, giving up on trying to sleep. I climbed out of bed and hurried out into the hall, searching through the dark for where Klaus' room was. The door was closed and I knocked softly, hoping I wouldn't disturb him.

To my surprise, the door opened immediately and I could see Klaus looking as scared and tired as I was.

"I can't sleep," I said, "can you?"

Klaus swallowed, shaking his head.

"Do you mind if I come in?" I asked, "It might make us both feel a little better."

Klaus nodded. "Of course."

So I stayed in Klaus' room for the night. We still couldn't sleep at first so we continued reading our books about magic, of course and talking excitedly about learning spells. Eventually, we fell asleep in the reading chairs.

* * *

We went to Diagon Alley the next day. Rick came to stay at the house while Renée took Klaus, Melissa, Fiona, and I to London. We went to a place called the Leaky Cauldron where I noticed a lot of odd people dressed in robes like Albus Dumbledore's, except not as elegant. They must be witches and wizards. Renée led us through the crowd and seemed to know some of them, who she introduced to us. Then, we headed to Diagon Alley, where my mouth dropped from all of the excitement of young witches and wizards with their noses pressed up against the glass of some of the shops and dressed in robes of all different styles and colors. I felt like I had just entered Disneyland and I couldn't suppress my delight.

First, Renée took us to Gringrotts Wizarding Bank, which was run by goblins. They didn't seem very friendly, but we each got Wizard money to spend on supplies.

We went to a number of shops, such as Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions where we each got our uniform consisting of a set of black robes, a black pointed hat, a black cloak for the winter, and other clothing articles we couldn't get anywhere else. After we went to buy a cauldron and other supplies used in potion making, and then, to Flourish and Blotts. Klaus was especially excited to have more books to read. I definitely couldn't wait to start learning some real spells. Our next stop was Ollivander's Wand Shop.

Renée took us to Eeylops Owl Emporium as she explained a little more about their system of sending messages. Klaus got a tawny owl that he named Atticus and Melissa got a brown owl named Winnie. And then, we went to Magical Menagerie to see the other animals. According to the supply list, we were allowed to bring an owl, a cat, or a toad. Fiona instantly went over to the toads, picking one out and naming him Queequeg in honor of her submarine that she missed. While she fussed over her toad, I looked around for a cat. Ever since I was younger, I always wanted a pet. A dog or a cat, specifically, but of course I wasn't allowed any pets at the Ontario Boarding School for Girls. I remember Carmelita had a cat though. It was a Persian cat and she used to show us pictures of her torturing the cat by forcing it to wear princess costumes.

There were a number of adorable cats, of all different sizes. Any one of them would be perfect. Suddenly, I felt something on my leg and I looked down to find a fluffy grey and white ball of fur with large violet eyes staring up at me. I immediately fell in love with her eyes. I leaned down to pet her and she purred. I had to have her. I named her Bonnie Bodicea, Bo for short of course. I named her after a kitten from one of my favorite books as a child, called _Little Bo _by Julie Andrews. Bodicea was also the name of a fearless queen who led her tribe in an uprising against the Roman Empire. The lady who worked there told me that Bonnie was a cross between a Domestic Longhair kitten and a Kneazle. Kneazles, Renée clarified later, were magical creatures that were commonly bred with cats. They were much more intelligent and independent than a typical cat.

Our next stop was Ollivander's Wand Shop. We entered the shop, which appeared to be covered in a thin layer of dust, to find a small place, almost empty besides a chair. It made me feel like I was in a library and our excited chatter, instantly, ceased.

"Good afternoon," a gentle voice greeted us, belonging to an old man, who came to stand before us. His eyes were twinkling as he stared, wide eyed at us.

"Hello, Ollivander," Renée said. "This is my niece, Jamie Murray, and her friends, Klaus Baudelaire, Melissa Sampson, and Fiona Widdershins."

Ollivander looked at each of us in turn. "Yes, yes, wonderful," he said, "I suppose I should have expected you to come. I heard all about your story."

"It's nice to meet you too," I said, trying to be polite, though Ollivander seemed a little creepy.

"I'm sure I'll be able to find your ideal matches," Ollivander went on, "After all, the wand chooses the witch or wizard. Now…"

Ollivander had us each try out a number of wands until one of them seemed to be the ideal match. I was first and received cypress, eleven-and-a-half inches, dragonheart string core.

"Very interesting combination indeed," Ollivander said, "Cypress matches only the most courageous and self-sacrificing of wizards or witches."

Klaus was next and discovered his match on the first try.

"Walnut, ten-and-three-quarters inches, dragonheart string," Ollivander announced. "For a highly intelligent wizard like yourself, yes. And very powerful as well."

Fiona followed and received maple wood, unicorn hair, ten inches.

"I can sense a passion for exploration and nature," Ollivander said, "yes, a very suitable match."

Of course, Melissa was next and for hers, it took considerably longer. After about five wands, Melissa still hadn't found her match.

Ollivander looked through the wands, clearly, taken aback.

"Aha," Ollivander said, suddenly. "I know just the one. It's a very rare as it was very popular some centuries ago to the point that it nearly became extinct. But I believe I do have a few. I knew you must be a Seer from the moment I saw you. For you…" Ollivander pulled out a very nice silver wand. "Silver lime, twelve inches, dragonheart string."

We paid for our wands and left the shop, shivering a bit from his creepy demeanor. I was happy with my wand though and couldn't stop staring at it. I was almost tempted to pull out one of my books and start practicing. Renée let us stop at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour for some ice cream sundaes.

Before we left, Renée let us look at the broomsticks in one of the displays. I really wanted to get one, but first years weren't allowed broomsticks. I looked at them anyways, hoping to get one as soon as I could.

We had to leave, to my despair, and I trailed behind, wishing I could stay in Diagon Alley, but also excited to be going to Hogwarts in just two days. Finally, the anticipation would be over and I couldn't wait to get home to start reading about magic.

* * *

Despite, the exciting day I had in Diagon Alley, I still couldn't sleep without having nightmares. It made it easier that Bonnie was with me. She liked to curl up near my head, purring as she slept, and made me feel less alone. I tried not to get up to spend another night in Klaus' room. We probably wouldn't be able to share a room at Hogwarts so I figured I should get used to sleeping on my own. Still, I was restless: tossing and turning and praying for the first traces of dawn through my window.

The night before Hogwarts wasn't any better. I gave up again, deciding I might feel better if I had a late night snack. I climbed downstairs, with Bonnie following at my ankles, to the kitchen. I entered to find that it was already occupied. Renée was sitting at the table, her eyes glued to what looked like a newspaper, except…it looked like the pictures were moving. She glanced up in surprise when I entered.

"Jane what are you doing up?" Renée asked, putting the newspaper down. "You have a big day tomorrow. You should go back to sleep."

"I've tried," I said, "But I just can't sleep."

"Well, why don't you sit?" she gestured to the seat across from her. "You can tell me all about it."

I sat down. "I just keep having nightmares," I said. "About well…Count Olaf coming to kidnap me."

"Don't worry," she said, placing a hand on top of mine. "Count Olaf isn't coming anywhere near you children. I promise you, this house is very safe. I wouldn't have moved here if I didn't know it was."

"So you didn't stay here before us?" I asked.

"No," Renée said, "It would have been far too lonesome staying in such a huge house by myself. I barely understand how Esmé could bear living in that penthouse."

I shuddered, as memories of 667 Dark Avenue came back to me.

"So you bought this home just for us?" I said, in surprise. "You really didn't have to."

"Oh, no, no," Renée said, shaking her head. "I didn't buy this place. I inherited it from my deceased parents."

"You mean my grandparents?" I asked.

"Not really no," Renée said and looked down. "See, one thing I didn't mention to you was that I was adopted."

"Oh," I said. I wasn't expecting her to say that.

"My biological parents, however, were magic," Renée said, "I come from what is called a Pureblood family because both my biological parents were a wizard and a witch from a long line of Purebloods."

"So I'm not a Pureblood, right?" I said. "My parents weren't magic, right?"

"Not your parents, no," Renée said. "The term for a witch or wizard with both nonmagical parents is a Muggleborn. And the term for the child of a nonmagical parent and a magical parent is a Halfblood."

"So if I'm a Muggleborn…" I said, uncertainly. "Does that mean I'll know less than other magical people? I really hope not. I wouldn't want to be behind or anything. What if I get kicked out when they discover I can't do any magic?"

"Shh," Renée said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Blood status has been a conflict for a very long time, but being a Muggleborn does not mean you won't be as successful or even more successful than a child who is a Pureblood. Trust me, Jane, you will be fine at Hogwarts. More than fine. You have no idea how scared _I _was my first year and I didn't have anyone to tell me these things. Hagrid, I believe you briefly met, is the one who took me to Diagon Alley my first year. Be sure to say hello. He's very friendly and I probably would never have made it through without his guidance."

"Why didn't anyone take you?" I asked. "Where were your parents?"

Renée sighed. "I suppose it won't surprise you that I was also an orphan," Renée said. "I lost my parents too."

"What happened to your biological parents?" I asked.

"My parents supposedly died in the Wizarding War," Renée said, "A long time ago, a wizard came to power. He was a great wizard, but he did horrible, horrible things. He murdered many wizards and witches for being Muggleborns since Purebloods believe that they are inferior to them. He was so powerful that no one was able to stop him from doing terrible deeds, despite the groups that fought against him."

"Is he gone now?" I asked, shuddering at the thought. I didn't want some evil wizard coming to kill me after spending an entire year trying to avoid death by an evil human. I tried to imagine what this wizard looked like and could only imagine Count Olaf with magic. I shuddered again. That would be very unpleasant.

"Yes," Renée said, "See, a boy by the name of Harry Potter defeated him when he was a baby. You-Know-Who came to his home and murdered his parents, but when he tried to kill Harry Potter, the young boy survived. Somehow, no one is really able to explain how it happened, but Voldemort was destroyed and gave him a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt."

"That sounds awful," I said, "Poor Harry Potter."

"You may actually meet Harry Potter," Renée said, "This is his first year at Hogwarts too."

"I hope he's nice," I said, "I certainly hope to meet him."

"I'm sure he is," Renée said, "He's very famous, of course. Anyways, no matter what, you're going to have a great time at Hogwarts. You'll make lasting friendships and if you're dedicated, become a very successful witch."

"Oh I am dedicated," I said, "I really want to do well. Klaus and I started looking through our books. And I started reading _A History of Magic_."

"Good," Renée said, "then you should do well. There's something I want to give you. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but now that you're awake, I may as well." Renée got up and picked up a little gift bag from the counter, giving it to me.

"You didn't have to get me anything," I said. "I don't want you to spend money on me."

"It's not much," Renée said. "But I think you'll like it all the same."

I carefully removed the tissue paper and pulled out a small, turquoise notebook. It was the same color as my last one, but had a hardcover, and a heart pendant as the lock, allowing for more privacy from prying eyes.

"I noticed you stopped using your notebook," Renée said, "I figured you could use a clean slate as you start on a new adventure. It's enchanted so that only you can open it. I used the spell on your notebook once before to stop Olaf from reading it. I suppose that only had temporary effects, but I assure you, I used a stronger charm."

"Thank you," I said with a genuine smile. "I really needed this. " I gave her a hug.

"It's my pleasure," Renée said, "I've been waiting for years to finally see you again. It's the least I could do after all that you've been through." She kissed my forehead, gently.

"But you really should go back to bed now. You need to sleep. No one is going to harm you."

I sighed, still feeling a little scared, but I tried to listen to Renée. Maybe there _was _nothing to be afraid of anymore.

* * *

**Review!**

**I know it was a long wait but I wanted to get a head start on the next chapters. I hope to upload the next one later tonight so stay tuned! :) Next chapter is the Hogwarts Express!**

**See my profile for pics of Jamie's room, her cat, etc... **


	2. The Hogwarts Express

**New chapter! **

**ENJOY and R&R please!**

* * *

**Chapter Two: The Hogwarts Express**

We got up early the next day and said goodbye to the others. I gave each of them a huge hug. I was especially going to miss Violet, Sunny, and Beatrice. I wished they could come with us, but of course, Sunny and Beatrice were too young, and Violet never received a letter. It made me a little sad that she wasn't able to go, but when I mentioned it to her, she said she was okay with it. Magic could compromise with her passion for inventing and she was just thankful that she could pursue her dreams in peace, far from treachery. Also, Renée was going to let Violet set up an inventing studio, which she was thrilled about. Besides, Violet spent all of her time with Quigley now and never wanted to be separated from him again. I probably wouldn't have gone if Klaus couldn't. Duncan was the only one who was a little jealous, though he tried to hide it. He wanted so badly to research magic, and perhaps become a reporter in the Wizarding world. We tried to comfort him, and Renée said he could read some of the magic books. He felt better about that.

We were all crying as we said our goodbyes, but I knew that they would be safe. I trusted Renée would look after them.

Then, we piled in the car with our luggage and Renée drove us through the countryside to the King's Cross station in London. Apparently, we were headed to Platform 9 ¾. We reached an area between platforms 9 and 10, but I couldn't find platform 9 ¾.

"It's through here," Renée said, bringing us to stand in front of a brick wall.

"What?" Mel said. "That's a brick wall."

"Yes," Renée said, "but it's been enchanted with magic so now it's a portal. All you have to do is run at it and you'll be through to the other side. Don't be afraid. I promise it won't hurt. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," Mel said and began to run at it, without the slightest trace of fear, and just as Renée said, she disappeared through the wall.

I went next, hoping to seem braver than I felt. I ran at the wall with my cart and as I neared it, I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting to slam against a wall, but when I opened my eyes I had reached the other side.

All around me students of all ages were pushing their carts toward a large train painted in red, black, and gold. The parents of the students were saying their goodbyes and making sure they hadn't forgotten anything. One woman was scolding her son for losing his toad. It made me miss my parents and wish that they were here to send me to Hogwarts. But I was glad that I had Renée.

"That's a very interesting passage," Klaus said when he came through. "I'll have to read about how they enchanted the wall to act as a portal."

"I hope there aren't any other portals like that," I said, "I thought I was going to crash into the wall."

"Oh it wasn't that bad, Jane," Melissa said, "I thought it was fun."

"Don't call me Jane," I said, in a whisper, in case any one overheard. "I'm Jamie now."

"Why does it matter?" Melissa said.

"I just want to start fresh, okay?" I said, "With my real name. I suppose I should start getting used to it. So none of you can call me Jane."

Klaus frowned. Clearly, I had forgotten to mention my decision to him.

"Don't be upset," I said, "It's not like I changed your name, Klaus."

"I know," Klaus said, "but I thought you liked being Jane."

"I didn't change my identity," I said, "I'm still the same person. I just prefer Jamie, that's all."

"Whatever, Jane," Mel said.

I shot her a glare and she flashed a grin.

"If that's what you want," Klaus said, "but I'll miss calling you Jane."

Fiona and Renée had made it over to platform 9 ¾ and we started towards the train.

"This is where we part for now," Renée said, "Remember to change into your uniforms when you get a chance. If you need anything at all, just write."

"I'm going to write as much as possible," I said, "Don't worry."

Renée patted my head. "Same goes for you," she said and pulled me into a hug.

She gave a goodbye hug to the others and we waved as we headed for the train. Melissa and Fiona were already on and I trailed behind with Klaus. But when I began to step onto the train, I paused. I turned back and headed back to Renée.

"Thanks for everything," I said, "And I really mean everything."

Renée smiled. "It's my job to take care of you," she said, pulling me in for another hug. "I love you, Jamie." She kissed the top of my head.

"Me too," I said, my heart soaring at her words.

"I know you're going to do great," Renée said, "I can't wait to hear all about it."

I started back towards the train, waving goodbye. Klaus was still waiting at the entrance. Melissa and Fiona were waiting too, though Fiona didn't look happy about it. She was nice to me when she had to be, but when we were alone she didn't try to hide her hatred for me.

We made our way up the train and we searched for an empty compartment. When we heard people in the one of the compartments screeching.

"I saw it before," Fiona said, "It was this giant tarantula. Some boy brought it with him."

"Let's go check it out," Melissa said, "It sounds awesome."

"It must be a magical species," Klaus said.

"Let's go," Fiona said. They headed for the door.

"Are you coming, J?" Mel asked. "It sounds fun."

"No, I don't think so," I said. "Spiders creep me out. I want to make sure Bonnie is settled."

"Suit yourself," Fiona said and headed out with Melissa, who, unfortunately, was beginning to be good friends with Fiona. Klaus lingered.

"I'll stay," he said, "I'm sure I'll have plenty of opportunities to study magical creatures."

"No, don't," I said, "Go ahead. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Klaus asked.

"Sure I'm sure," I said and gave him a kiss. "Bonnie is already starting to get restless in that cage. I really don't like putting her in it either."

"Ok, good," Klaus said, giving me a quick hug. "I won't be long."

We shared a smile and then, he followed the others down the hall. I turned to Bonnie's cage, opening it quickly. I really didn't like putting Bonnie in a cage. This was the first time I had to do it and I didn't think I would do it again.

"I know," I said, as I petted her. "I won't put you in there again. I'll ask Renée to send something a little more suitable to carry you in."

Suddenly, the doors of the compartment slid open and I turned, expecting to see Klaus, but instead saw three boys I didn't know. They were about my age. Two of them were hefty and seemed a little unpleasant, almost like bodyguards to the third boy, who stood in front of them as if he thought he was the most important person in the room. He had sleek blond hair, pale skin, and an upturned nose.

Only his friends noticed me and they looked at me curiously. The blond boy went immediately over to the seat across from where I was sitting. That was when he noticed me staring at him oddly. He stood up abruptly, his eyes—which I noticed were grey with a glow like the moon—widening at first, and then they narrowed.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm J—"

"I should have expected some first year to come in here to beg for my autograph," he said.

I laughed and he scowled. "I wasn't in here to ask for your autograph," I said, in between laughs. "No offense. My friends and I were about to settle for this compartment when you barged in. Maybe it's you who wants my autograph?"

"Why, are you famous then?" the boy asked. "I didn't recognize you."

"A little bit," I said, "but I was just kidding."

"Oh," he said, "well, then I suppose we could go somewhere else. Maybe we can bully someone into giving us their compartment."

"Or you could stay here," I suggested. "I don't mind."

"Well I suppose you ought to let us stay," he said. "Normally, I would kick you out but maybe I'll let you slide for now." He sat back down. Crabbe and Goyle sat on either side, still staring at me as if they were his watchdogs. "I'm sure you already know who I am. But I'll just be polite—I'm Draco Malfoy, son of Lucius Malfoy, and Grandson of Abraxas Malfoy." He noticed my gaze on the other boys. "Oh, and this is Crabbe and Goyle. What's your name?"

"Um…I'm Jamie," I said.

Draco Malfoy frowned. "You have a weird way of talking," Draco Malfoy said. "Are you American?"

"Yes," I said, hoping that wouldn't hinder my chances of making friends here.

His eyes widened. "That makes sense," he said, "you didn't sound British. I'm sure you've heard of the American schools of magic. But you're lucky to go to Hogwarts. It's the best school there is, despite, the fact that it allows riff-raff in. Not many international students receive Hogwarts letters. Do you currently live there?"

"No," I said, "I moved to England when I received my letter. I do love it here. The countryside is just beautiful."

"Yes, yes," Draco Malfoy said, though he didn't seem to care much. "What county do you live in?"

I told him the address and his eyes widened. "I know that house. It belongs to the Lynton family," he said, "but I thought their family died out in the war."

"They did," I said. "But my aunt Renée is apart of their family."

"Oh, ok," Draco Malfoy said. "Well, I live in Whiltshire too. You don't live with your parents then?"

"Well," I said, "they're…um…dead."

"Oh, sorry," Draco Malfoy said, though he didn't sound too concerned. "Know what house you'll be in?"

I frowned for a second, and then remembered Klaus mentioning something about four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. I didn't remember much about them though. "No," I said.

"Oh," he said, "well, I know I'll be in Slytherin. My entire family has been in Slytherin."

"You'll probably be in Slytherin too," Draco Malfoy went on before I could respond, "since, the Lynton family was. Your aunt was in Slytherin, right?"

"I think so," I said, quickly, not sure if that was even correct. I would have to ask Renée later.

"You'll definitely be in Slytherin," he said. "Just as long as the Sorting hat doesn't sort you into Gryffindor by mistake."

"What's wrong with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff?" I asked.

"Well, Slytherin has been rivals with Gryffindor since the school was founded," Draco Malfoy explained.

Before I could reply, the doors of the compartment slid open. Klaus, Melissa, and Fiona were back and were startled when they noticed the three boys.

"Hello," Klaus said, politely.

"And what do we have here?" Melissa said, looking from me to Draco Malfoy and his friends.

"This is Draco Malfoy," I said, "and his friends Crabbe and Goyle. These are my friends, Klaus Baudelaire, Melissa Sampson, and Fiona Widdershins."

"Jane was left alone for five minutes and she's already picked up three more boyfriends," Melissa joked to Klaus, who didn't look too pleased with that idea. "You'd better be careful, Klaus."

"Jane?" Draco Malfoy asked. "I thought your name was Jamie."

I shot a glare at Melissa. Of course, she has to go blabbing my old name even after I told her not to and humiliate me all in one shot.

"It's complicated," I said, "they just call me Jane as a nickname. But please call me Jamie."

"All right then, Jamie," Draco Malfoy said.

Klaus stepped forward. "How do you do?" Klaus said, holding out his hand. Draco Malfoy pretended not to notice. Klaus looked a little offended and went to sit down beside me.

"You must be from America too, then?" Draco Malfoy said.

"Yes we're from across the pond," Melissa said, as she plopped down beside me. "How about you?"

"Draco lives in Whiltshire," I said with a smile. "He's from an old wizarding family that were all in Slytherin, right?"

I looked at Draco Malfoy for approval. He looked amused that I was talking about him.

"Slytherin?" Melissa said, "What's that?"

Draco Malfoy looked like he was about to throw a punch at Mel.

"It's one of the four houses," Klaus said, "I read about them in _Hogwarts: A History_." Though, as he spoke, he glanced from Draco Malfoy to me with a frown. "Salazar Slytherin was the founder."

At that moment, the doors opened again and an old woman peered inside. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked.

Crabbe and Goyle almost tripped over themselves and went to order a bunch of sweets. They were all names that I've never heard of like Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Cauldron Cakes, Pumpkin Pasties, Licorice Wands, and an assortment of other strange candy.

Draco Malfoy bought a mound of candy. I bought a little bit of everything. I wasn't that hungry because I was still a little nervous about Hogwarts.

We munched on our candy. I shared some with Klaus and Melissa. Fiona waved any of my offers away, saying she didn't like candy. Who doesn't like candy? My favorite was the Chocolate Frogs. Klaus was especially excited about the cards with famous wizards and witches on them. I got a number of them. Including Albus Dumbledore's. I couldn't get over the fact that they were moving in the photos. Sometimes they left the photo entirely. I was beginning to really love magic.

I opened a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans next. I took out a small green one, and found it tasted like…green Bell peppers. That was an odd flavor. I guess by 'every flavor' they meant 'every flavor'.

I glanced over at Draco Malfoy out of the corner of my eye. He was gazing out the window, wearing a permanent frown, munching on some Chocolate Frogs. Draco Malfoy turned to mutter something to Crabbe and Goyle, who were wolfing down their candy as if they were afraid someone was going to steal it. Crabbe picked up some sort of chocolate treat from his enormous pile and took a huge bite. Chocolate got on the corners of his mouth and hands.

I exchanged glances with Klaus who looked equally grossed out.

Draco Malfoy glared at Crabbe. Crabbe and Goyle got up, and left the compartment.

"I'm sorry about that," Draco Malfoy apologized, more to me than anyone else in the compartment.

"Don't worry about it," Klaus said.

"Yeah, it's fine," Fiona said.

"It's all right," I said, smiling, trying with a huge effort to make this less awkward. "I guess… we could call it even."

"Yes…" Draco Malfoy said giving me a peculiar look. "Let's call it _even_."

There was a slight pause, and my eyes flickered to Klaus, who was about to nibble on a dark colored bean.

"That tasted like coffee," Klaus said.

"I think I could use a coffee now," I said, leaning my head on Klaus' shoulder. "I'm exhausted."

Draco Malfoy got up and started to leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"Oh, just to go look for Crabbe and Goyle," Draco said, eyeing my head on Klaus' shoulder.

He left, leaving me a little confused. We were silent again, and my eyelids began to droop.

After a moment, there was a knock on the door and it slid open. A boy with brown hair and a round face stood in the doorway, looking terribly upset.

"Sorry," he said, looking back and forth between us. "Have you seen a toad?"

"Sorry, we haven't," I said.

"Well, I've lost him so if you see him let me know," he said, sounding frustrated.

"Do you need help?" Fiona asked. "I have a toad too. I know what you mean, I can never seem to get Queequeg to stay put."

"Um…yes thank you," the boy said. Fiona got up and left the compartment.

"I think I'm going to go check out that tarantula again," Mel said, "Lee Jordan's in my year so I suppose I should get to know someone."

Klaus and I exchanged glances.

"Well Crabbe and Goyle certainly know how to clear a room," I said with a smile.

"I'm not sure I like those boys," Klaus said, "They didn't seem very nice."

I shrugged. "Maybe we shouldn't be too judgmental," I said, "I mean, we don't know them. Perhaps they're nice once you get to know them."

"So all of his relatives were in Slytherin?" Klaus asked.

I nodded. "What does that matter?" I asked.

"Well, I've read thoroughly on each house," Klaus said, "and I do remember the book said that Slytherin had a bad reputation for producing dark witches and wizards. Salazaar Slytherin, the founder, preferred Purebloods, which began their rivalry with Gryffindor, who supported Muggleborn students."

"What does this have to do with Draco Malfoy?" I asked.

"Well, Draco Malfoy's family is an old wizarding family and since they were all in Slytherin, well, we can assume that his family holds the same values as Salazaar Slytherin towards Muggleborns. Slytherins are typically very cunning, self-preserving, yet ambitious and can become very powerful, especially in the Dark Arts. For instance, You-Know-Who, was a Slytherin, and Draco Malfoy's family were his supporters. Death Eaters."

"Oh," I said, with a frown. "That doesn't sound good. But I think he thinks I'm a Pureblood."

Klaus frowned. "Why?" he asked.

"Don't tell the others," I said, "but Renée told me that she was adopted."

"I think I heard something about that on the day of the trial," Klaus said. "So were her real parents a wizard and a witch?"

"Yes," I said, "and I'm pretty sure they were also Pureblooded Slytherins. Renée inherited our new home from her parents and everything in it. I guess Draco Malfoy just got confused and assumed that meant I was a Pureblood too. I know it's confusing for me. And I didn't feel like I should tell him."

"That was probably a good idea," Klaus said, "though I don't think I've fooled him. He didn't seem to like me."

I shrugged. "He doesn't seem very friendly, so I wouldn't let it bother you," I said, "I just hope we'll meet other students who don't hate us for our blood status." I yawned.

"Why don't you rest?" Klaus said, "You seem tired."

I sighed and leaned my head back on his shoulder.

Bonnie who had been embracing her freedom from the crate, climbed onto my lap.

"Bonnie certainly is," I said and closed my eyes. I hoped that with Klaus here, I would be able to sleep well without any nightmares. I fell immediately into a deep, peaceful, dreamless sleep.

* * *

My eyes shot open, and I looked around the room frantically, finding that Klaus was gone. I was having a peaceful sleep until the end when I had another nightmare. Would I ever be able to get a good sleep again? Bonnie had bolted out of my lap when I jerked, and was pacing around, not looking too happy about that.

"I'm sorry," I said. I sighed, standing up to stretch. I found my brush and worked through the tangles and popped a mint into my mouth. Bonnie seemed to have gotten over being spooked and climbed back onto the seat, stretching out, adorably. Then she began to pace on the seat, her eyes gazing at the ground as if it was covered with water.

Bonnie was a very spoiled kitten so she got what she wanted and I held her tightly in my arms.

"Let's go see where everyone went," I said to her, sliding open the compartment door.

At that moment, I almost walked into someone standing on the opposite side.

"Sorry," I said, stepping back to let Draco Malfoy enter. "I was just going to find Klaus. Do you know where he went?"

"I don't know," Draco Malfoy said, walking into the room and sitting down on one of the seats, "but you shouldn't go looking for him. He'll probably be back soon."

"Bonnie needs to be fed anyways," I said, stepping back into the compartment and slowly closing the door.

I placed Bonnie back on the seat and she curled up on her little blanket to pout, but when I took out a bowl of her food she rushed to it, digging in before the bowl was even placed on the seat beside her.

I turned my head in Draco Malfoy's direction. He was gazing out the window, but I caught him looking at me out of the corner of his eye. "So, did you find Crabbe and Goyle?"

"They were with Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabbini," Draco Malfoy said, "Nott is also from a Pureblood family. I'll introduce you later."

"Oh," I said.

It was silent and I turned back to Bonnie, feeling awkward.

"Isn't it weird living with your friends?" Draco Malfoy asked, abruptly.

"Not really," I said, frowning to myself, "they're like the family I never had."

His frown deepened. "That boy, Klaus, seemed to already know all about the school," he said.

"Yeah," I said, smiling as I always did when I started to talk about Klaus. "He's really smart. You could ask him anything and he'll know the answer. I swear he's like a walking library."

"Mmm," Draco Malfoy said, though he didn't seem too happy about that. "I've read that book too. You don't have to be a walking library to know everything about Hogwarts. Now, _I _know _everything_. I can tell you about secret passageways and how to enter each of the common rooms. I can tell you things that you would never find in books, even ways to sneak into the restricted section of the library. Anything you're dying to know?"

"I just want to know everything," I said hoping to steer our conversation away from my friends.

"Well…" Draco Malfoy said, as he sat down beside me. "Did you know that the staircases move on their own?"

My eyes widened. It was fleeting, but I swear I saw a hint of a smile on his lips.

He started telling me all about the staircase and then, the common rooms. Mostly he talked about the Slytherin common room, since he didn't know exactly where the others were. Then, although I pretended like I knew what it was, he started talking about Quidditch. He said that it was unfair that first years weren't allowed to play and it would be a crime if he didn't make the Slytherin team. He told me that he learned how to fly when he was very young and went on several adventures on the countryside, nearly getting hit by helicopters. I didn't really believe all of his flying stories, but I still liked to hear about it. Our conversation steered back to Hogwarts and he launched into a detailed description of the houses.

"…Gryffindor's believe that Muggleborns should be allowed to attend," Draco Malfoy went on, "Especially since Dumbledore is the Headmaster, he's also a Muggle-lover. He was in Gryffindor and I think they get a little too much special attention from him, if you know what I mean. Anyway, Muggleborns just don't belong at Hogwarts. They're riff-raff. They shouldn't even be allowed to handle a wand."

"Oh," I said, trying to suppress my frown. "Well maybe it doesn't really matter. I mean, they can't help who they are."

Draco Malfoy narrowed his eyes at me as if I had just insulted him, but then they returned back to normal. "I suppose Americans aren't as familiar with the importance of blood status," he said. "Their schools are filled with Muggleborns. But don't worry." He leaned forward, so only I could hear. "If you were anyone else I would have hexed you, but I'm beginning to enjoy your company."

"Really?" I said, happy to see I was making a new friend. Even if he was a little rude and I wasn't actually who he thought I was. "I am too."

Draco Malfoy nodded. "I can teach you everything you need to know about being a Slytherin Pureblood here."

"What do I have to do?" I asked, curiously.

"You need to improve on a lot of things," Draco Malfoy said. "First, you need to get rid of your friends. I can help you with that. In fact, consider me your new friend."

He held out his hand. I took his hand, though I wasn't too happy about what he had said. I felt like I was making a business deal rather than making a new friend. But a part of me wanted to stick around. Maybe if I could become his friend, I could convince him that Muggleborns aren't that bad.

At that moment, the compartment door slid open revealing a pug-faced girl with short black hair and hazel eyes. Her eyes were bright as if something exciting happened.

"Hey, Malfoy," she said.

"Hey, Pansy," he said, dropping his hand and moving away from me, looking as if he'd been caught committing a crime.

Pansy looked from Draco Malfoy to me. "Who is _she_?" she asked.

Draco glanced at me as he said, "This is Jamie."

"Oh," she said, frowning at me, "why are you sitting here?" she said to Draco Malfoy. "You should have found me."

"I didn't know where you were," Draco Malfoy said.

"Well, anyways," Pansy said, "people have been saying that Harry Potter is on this train."

"Harry Potter?" Draco Malfoy asked, his eyes widening. I gasped, which made Pansy glance at me out of the corner of her eye, giving me an ice-cold glare. "Where is he?"

"Come, see." She said grabbing Draco Malfoy's arm and pulling him out of the door, but he paused.

"Are you coming, Jamie?" he asked. Pansy glared at me from behind his back.

I sighed inwardly. "I think I should change into my robes," I said, not wanting to go anywhere with that nasty girl, "but thanks anyways."

Draco Malfoy hesitated at the door.

"She said she's not _coming_ Malfoy, let's _go_," She tugged roughly on his arm and he finally left the compartment.

I changed silently into my robes as Bonnie played with a shoelace from my green converse. When I was done, I sat down beside her again.

"I don't know why it's so important for me to find good in someone like Draco Malfoy," I said to her. "I know from experience that people like him never change."

There was a knock on the compartment door.

"Come in," I said. The door slid open. It was Klaus. I hurried over to give him a hug.

"Hey," he said, with a chuckle. "I wasn't gone for that long, was I?"

"I've missed you, that's all," I said.

"Me too," Klaus said, smiling, "did you sleep well?"

"Yeah," I said, averting my eyes. I didn't feel like mentioning my nightmares much anymore. I didn't want to make Klaus worried for no reason.

"Well, I've heard Harry Potter's on the train," Klaus said, "I was just going to go meet him. Would you like to come?"

"Sure," I said. "I'm so glad I have you here with me. I don't know what I'd do if I had to come here alone."

He smiled. "I would've come anyways. Even if I hadn't been accepted, I would have come for you. And if you weren't allowed to come for some reason and I could, I'd stay with you."

I beamed. "You would have stayed?" I asked.

"I didn't try to reunite with you for almost an entire year for nothing," Klaus said, "I thought you already knew that."

I gave him a peck on the lips and smiled.

"I did and still do," I said, "I would have done the same for you. Though if I couldn't go to Hogwarts, I would still want you to go."

"Well, it's a good thing we won't have to worry about that happening."

"Yeah," I said.

We were just about to head out into the hallway when Bonnie began to make little whining noises. Clearly, she always had to be carried. I sighed and picked her up, carrying her out of the compartment. It's a good thing she was so small.

As we walked out, Fiona was standing just a few feet away, waiting for us, to my dismay.

"You know, we should probably change into our robes before we go," Klaus said.

"You're right," Fiona said, "why don't you change first?"

"Alright," Klaus said, walking back into the compartment.

"I'm going to go on ahead," I said, mostly to Klaus.

"I'll catch up when I'm done," Klaus said, smiling at me before he closed the compartment door.

Fiona gave me the death stare as I walked past her. I was not sure exactly where I was going. I was relieved when I saw Draco and his two friends coming back down the aisle from the direction I was headed.

I smiled at them as they passed. When suddenly, Draco grabbed my hand. I turned around surprised.

"Are you going to meet, Harry Potter?" he asked.

I nodded. "Of course," I said, "Why?"

"He's a waste of time," he said and Crabbe and Goyle nodded in agreement, exchanging smirks. "He only hangs out with riff-raff."

"Well, I still want to meet him," I said. "He's a celebrity."

"Good luck, then." He winked.

I giggled, nodding. I turned and made my way to where I'd seen them come from. When I reached the compartment, a girl with bushy, brown hair was standing just a little inside. There were two boys sitting inside. One had red hair and a lot of freckles. His mouth was hanging open, in the middle of his sentence, and he turned to look at me curiously. The other had black hair, and light green eyes. He was skinny and his bangs were a little messy. I noticed a pink lightning like scar on his forehead. He was obviously Harry Potter.

"Hey, you're Harry Potter right?" I asked. All three of them looked at me.

"Yes, I'm Harry Potter," said Harry Potter, sighing heavily.

"It's nice to meet you," I said, holding out my hand to shake his. "I'm sorry for being like that. I'm sure it's not that great from your perspective."

Harry Potter nodded. "Frankly, I don't remember what happened that night," he said. "It's all a blur."

"I wish that were true about my story," I said, "I'd rather not be able to remember what happened to me. I'm sorry for your loss. I know what it's like to lose your parents at a very young age."

"Hold on," the girl said, looking at me with new eyes. "I know who you are, you're Jamie Murray or Jane Rumary!"

I smiled. "Yes," I said, "I'm guessing you live in the Muggle World."

"Oh my goodness," she said in excitement. "I'm Hermione Granger." She held out her hand to shake mine. "And this is Ron Weasley." She gestured to the red-headed boy beside Harry Potter. Ron's cheeks turned slightly pink. "I'm a huge fan. I read the whole series as soon as they came out and I've been following the news for updates. I was so thrilled to hear Count Olaf was in prison. I couldn't believe it when I learned your story was true. I can't believe that you're a witch too!"

"Me neither," I said with a smile, "But you should know that there were some things that were cut out of the books so we wouldn't expose the Wizarding World," I explained. "Actually, my aunt, Renée, is a witch too."

"You'll have to tell me more about it sometime," Hermione said, smiling. "I'm so happy to see that you're so nice in person. I can't imagine how you're feeling after what you went through."

I shrugged. "I've just been trying to leave it behind me," I said, "and move on."

"I think I've heard of you too," Harry Potter said, "my aunt and uncle were watching a story on the news about it."

"What happened?" Ron Weasley asked.

"It's a very long story that takes more than thirteen whole books to tell," I replied, not wanting to go into full detail. I didn't like to talk about it or bring it up. "Basically, my friends, the Baudelaires, lost their parents to an enormous fire, and my parents left me at a boarding school under a different name to protect me, especially from Count Olaf. They also perished, though, no one ever found out what happened to them."

"Who's Count Olaf?" Ron asked, confused.

"What's V.F.D?" Harry asked.

"What's your real name then?" Ron asked.

"How did you find out about your real name?" Harry asked.

"Enough," Hermione said, giving them a look, "she probably doesn't want to talk about it. Count Olaf was the notorious villain who tried to steal their fortunes. And V.F.D. is a secret organization they discovered that tries to prevent villainy."

"It sounds like you've been through a lot," Harry Potter said, "nothing like that happened to me, but I had to live with the Dursley's, my relatives. They're horrible people."

"I'm sorry about that," I said, "but I'm glad to be going to Hogwarts. We'll be safe from all of the horrible things in the Muggle world."

Klaus entered the compartment then, with Fiona.

"This is Klaus Baudelaire," I said. "Klaus, this Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Ron Weasley."

"Hello," Klaus said, extending his hand to Hermione. "It's nice to meet you."

Hermione's jaw dropped and her eyes went wide as she stared at Klaus as if I had just announced he was Merlin. She looked like she was about to faint.

"And I'm Fiona Widdershins," Fiona said, irritated that I didn't mention her.

But Hermione was only staring at Klaus, who I noticed was getting a little uncomfortable, but he was too polite to show it.

"What's up with her?" I heard Ron Weasley mutter to Harry Potter. "He's just a boy who sort of looks like you." I looked from Harry Potter to Klaus and realized they did kind of look similar. Their hair was almost the same color, though Harry's was slightly darker and of course, they had the same round glasses.

"H-hello," Hermione Granger managed at last, reaching out her hand. "Oh my goodness it's nice to meet you too, Klaus." She regained her composure and began to gush. "I was just telling Jamie that I read all of the books on your lives. I'm a very avid reader and your story is so inspiring, but terrible. I also love reading. I read all of the time and I would love it if my home had an enormous library piled with books and cushioned chairs. Oh, did you read _Hogwarts: A History _yet? I'm sure you did. I already learned all of the course books off by heart. Oh, you're probably going to be in Ravenclaw for sure, you're so smart, or Gryffindor, you're so brave. It's so nice to meet you. You're so remarkable."

I could tell Hermione Granger had said that all in one breath and she gasped, trying to refill her lungs.

Klaus smiled. "That's great that you love books. Actually, I just finished reading _Hogwarts: A History_ the other day," he said. "I especially loved learning about the history of the houses. As for the other books, I haven't had the chance to read all of them yet, but I'm hoping to get through them soon and maybe learn a few spells before our classes start."

"That's my favorite part too!" Hermione Granger squealed. "What did you think about the part about the Great Hall? I can't wait until we get to see the enchantments."

I noticed Ron Weasley rolling his eyes at Hermione. Hermione and Klaus started avidly talking about the books they've read. I talked to Harry and Ron a bit. Harry told me about his mean cousin, Dudley, who he had accidentally trapped in a behind the glass wall of a boa constrictor's cage at the zoo. Dudley reminded me a great deal like Carmelita Spats and I didn't hesitate to tell him about her. Ron had five older brothers named, Fred and George, twins who were in their third year with Melissa, Percy, who was a Prefect and in his fifth year. His older brothers, Bill and Charlie already graduated. Bill was working for Gringrotts and Charlie was working with dragons in Romania. They had all been in Gryffindor, which they said was the best house. They were certainly a lot different then Draco Malfoy.

"Our friend Melissa Sampson is going into her third year," I said.

Hermione looked at me with wide eyes. "Melissa is here too?" she squealed again.

"Nice to meet you too," Melissa said, as she entered, looking curiously at Hermione.

"She's read the books," I whispered to Mel.

Mel smiled at Hermione Granger. "You're a fan?"

Hermione nodded and looked from Klaus to Fiona to Melissa and then at me.

"I can't believe you're all here," she said, "Are Violet and Sunny here too? Well of course Sunny isn't but I would still love to meet her. What about the Quagmires? Oh, I would so love to meet them. Oh, and what about little Beatrice?"

"No," I said, "they're not magic. But they're at our new home with Renée and going to attend a school. Maybe you could visit sometime, though. I'm sure they would love to meet you too."

Hermione Granger beamed. I was so happy that I was making more new friends and that they weren't insulting me for being a Muggleborn.

"I would love too," Hermione Granger exclaimed. We exchanged addresses and Hermione continued talking about the books she was reading. She also brought several books for leisure, like Klaus and it amused me how similar they were. I wasn't sure if I should be worried but Hermione Granger seemed really nice, despite her bossy tone.

"I was rooting for you two to get together," she said to Klaus and I. "You really are together, right?"

I nodded and took Klaus' hand. "We're still happily together," I said, "And Violet and Quigley are on great terms again."

"Oh, that's great," Hermione Granger said, "It was so heartbreaking when Count Olaf kidnapped you and took you away from the Baudelaires."

"Yeah," I said, wishing she would stop bringing up the past. We talked a bit more about Hogwarts and Hermione continued to ask us questions about our past.

Eventually, we had to leave to give Harry and Ron some privacy so they could change into their robes. Hermione, Klaus, Fiona and I talked some more in the aisle until I decided to head back to our compartment to put Bonnie away before we had to get off.

I made my way back down the aisle alone until I reached the compartment. I slid the door open, finding it empty.

I stared at Little Bo's cage, reluctant to put her inside and wishing she had something more suitable. Bonnie was beginning to squirm too, sensing my train of thought.

"Hey, Jamie," said a voice from behind me. I jumped and my head whipped around. Bonnie took that opportunity to leap from my arms and hide under the seat. Draco Malfoy was standing in the doorway to our compartment.

He shook his head as if to clear a thought then he asked, "So, did you meet Harry Potter?"

I grinned. "Yes, I did," I said, "And he isn't so bad. You shouldn't judge people so quickly."

"Maybe you're right," Draco Malfoy said, sitting down on the seat across from me. "Maybe I shouldn't judge people at all."

"Maybe you shouldn't," I said, in agreement. "Sometimes first impressions can be misleading. People can surprise you, if you get to know them."

"Like you, for instance," he asked.

"Yes," I said with a brief smile. "Like me."

"What more is there to know about you?" he asked.

"Nothing really," I said, with a shrug. I didn't want to drag up my past unless it was necessary.

I didn't know what to say so I just turned my attention back to Bonnie, trying to get her out, but every time I tried, she would hiss at me.

"Please come out Bo," I tried coaxing her. "I promise I won't make you go in there."

"What's wrong with your cat?" Draco Malfoy asked.

I sighed. "I was so worried about coming to Hogwarts," I said, "that it didn't occur to me how uncomfortable it is for me to put her in a cage like this."

"I suppose so," Draco Malfoy said, giving me an odd look.

Bonnie finally crawled out and I picked her up, not bringing her anywhere near the cage.

"Is Klaus your boyfriend?" Draco Malfoy asked, as casually as if he was asking for the time.

I turned around.

"Yes," I replied.

"Isn't it a little soon for you two to be in a relationship?" Draco Malfoy said.

"I didn't realize you were my relationship counselor," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "Besides, with our history, it feels like I've been trying to get to this level with Klaus for a long time."

Draco Malfoy narrowed his eyes as if he thought I was being ridiculous.

"How long have you known him?" he asked, moving on.

"Just for about a year," I said, "but we're very close."

"And you live in the same home?" he asked. "Where are his parents?"

"Well, they're also orphans, like me," I said. "They all lost their parents and Fiona also lost her brother." I shuddered, just thinking of the hook-handed man. My skin prickled in the spot where he had slashed me. That was one more reason why I didn't like Fiona. "Renée took us all in."

"Well, I still have both my parents," Draco Malfoy said, "I suppose some wizards and witches are weaker than others."

"Well," I said growing terse, "sometimes there are things you can't control."

"I suppose," Draco Malfoy said in his drawling voice. "How did you meet? Some orphans' club?" he smirked.

"No," I said, rolling my eyes again, "well, it's kind of a long story and I mean really long. If I told you, I'd have to tell you my life's story and we'd be here for thirteen or more days."

"I think we have time," Draco Malfoy said.

I shook my head. "I don't really like to talk about it," I said, "I've been trying to move on—get past it. I'm sure there are things in your past that you wouldn't want to bring up to a stranger."

"A stranger?" Draco Malfoy raised his eyebrows. "I thought we were friends."

"We are," I said, "but I haven't been able to comprehend what happened to me myself, so until then, you'll have to be patient."

At that moment the door to our compartment opened and Melissa, Fiona, Klaus, Crabbe, and Goyle came in just as the train began to slow down, crawling slowly until it reached a standstill. They were preparing to get off the train.

Klaus, Fiona, and Draco's friends, Crabbe and Goyle, were heading out the door. Klaus turned.

"Are you coming?" he asked. I nodded standing up.

"You go on ahead, I have to figure out a way to get Bo in her cage," I said, "I'll catch up in a moment. Wait for me outside."

He nodded, before he turned to leave.

I struggled to get Bo to come out.

"I really hate to do this," I said, "I promise I'll let you out as soon as I can."

"What's the problem with putting your cat in a cage?" Draco Malfoy asked and I realized he was still here, with a start. "It's just a cat."

"It's not just a cat," I said, as I pulled Bo into my arms. She still hissed at me but I knew she wouldn't bite me. She really liked me when I wasn't trying to put her in her cage, which was close to never. "It's not as simple as all that. It seems cruel to lock a defenseless animal in a cage. She's just a small animal. She doesn't deserve to be locked up."

I placed Bo inside, then, put in one of her toys so she had something to do until I could release her. I was about to reach for my luggage when I saw that he had already taken it down for me.

"Thanks," I said, feeling my cheeks flush as I took hold of my bag, and started for the door.

"Wait," Draco Malfoy said.

I turned around. His grey eyes were luminous like the moon.

"I'll see you around, right?" he asked.

"Of course," I said.

"Good," he smirked, "because you still need to fill me in on your very long story."

* * *

**Review!**

**I'll try to update again soon! :)**


	3. The Sorting

**New Chapter! The SORTING! :)**

* * *

**Chapter Three: The Sorting**

I exited the train, stepping out onto the dark platform. It was cold and I shivered in my new robes, my mind still consumed with thoughts about Draco Malfoy. I wasn't sure how I felt about him. It wasn't news that he was a complete jerk and I wasn't about to give up my friends for him.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" a large voice called, coming from an extremely large man with a shaggy mane of hair and a wild, tangled beard. His eyes were black and were almost hidden in his hair. I recognized him from when I was shipwrecked onto that beach. I think his name was Hagrid. "C'mon follow me- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

I found Klaus up ahead, looking for me, standing with Fiona. I hurried over and saw that Hermione was with them too.

"Hey," I said, "sorry it took a bit."

"No worries," Klaus said.

"Where's Melissa?" I asked as we began to walk with the crowd of first years.

"The third years take a different route to the school," Hermione explained. "We're being sorted so we have to take the longer route. But I've read about it and we get to ride boats across the lake. It's supposed to be wonderful."

I know it was supposed to be exciting, but the idea of riding on a boat across a lake filled with water made me uneasy. Even though I knew how to swim now, thanks to Klaus, that hadn't saved me from almost dying in that shipwreck.

I think Klaus noticed my worried expression because he placed an arm around my shoulders. "You'll be fine," he said.

I nodded, growing increasingly nervous as we walked along the path, which was surrounded, by a sinister forest on either side. I began to have an immense wave of déjà vu. We reached the edge of a black lake. I looked up when I heard an "Ooooh!" come from people walking behind me.

My eyes widened as I stared up at the castle in all it's glory, perched on the hill. The sight of it was breathtaking and I stopped in my tracks to gawk at it. I knew this place. It was the place I dreamed of long ago when I was still trapped in Olaf's clutches. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. The wondrous place I dreamt of existed and now I knew I was free. I was free to cross the black lake and nothing from that forest would drag me away. For a moment, it was as if a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I opened my eyes and the castle was still there. I wasn't dreaming.

"It's beautiful," I whispered, in amazement. "Can you believe we made it?"

I took Klaus' hand as we shared a smile.

"No more'n four to boat!" called the giant man again, pointing to some boats.

"Come on," Hermione said, eagerly as she climbed inside one of the little wooden boats. I nervously climbed inside, praying that it would be over really soon. Klaus still held onto my hand, trying to comfort me. Fiona was trying to hide a smirk.

The boats glided across the lake, and I couldn't help be amazed that they were moving on their own. I gazed up at the school as we traveled, trying to focus on our destination instead of the dark waters.

"I read about a giant squid that lives in there," Hermione said.

My eyes widened. Not only did I have to worry about drowning, now there creatures that could eat me. Fiona was turned away, still snickering at me as she gazed into the lake's depths.

"I would love to have a look inside the lake," Fiona said, "I wonder what other creatures live in it."

I scooted closer to Klaus.

"Heads down!" yelled the Hagrid. We ducked as we went through a tunnel under the cliff where Hogwarts was perched. The boat carried us to a harbor and we all climbed out.

Hagrid was checking the boats and said, "Oy, you there! Is this your toad?"

The same boy who had come into our compartment looking for a toad cried, "Trevor!" as Hagrid placed the toad in his hands.

We clambered up a passageway, coming out onto damp grass near the castle, then climbed up a flight of stone steps and crowded at the huge, oak front door.

After making sure everybody was there, Hagrid knocked three times on the door. I looked in front of me to see a tall, black-haired witch dressed in emerald green robes. She had a very stern look on her face.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here," she said, and led us into the Entrance Hall.

It was beautiful. A magnificent marble staircase led to the upper floors. We followed Professor McGonagall across the Entrance Hall and into a small, empty chamber. We crowded together in the tiny room, closer than usual.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall, "the start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses in the Sorting." She went on to explain more about houses and how they have classes together as well as share a dormitory. I was far too nervous to catch every word she said.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," she continued, "Please wait quietly."

Then she left and my anticipation increased as I anxiously waited for the ceremony to begin. I just wanted to get the Sorting over with. My eyes traveled across the frightened expressions of the first years. I noticed the white-blond hair of Draco Malfoy. He was standing with his friends, looking completely confident. I looked around and saw Draco Malfoy staring at me, again. I had to admit I was very nervous about the Sorting, but I was still a little bit worried about who Draco Malfoy really was and if I should really talk to him. Maybe I'll leave it to fate to decide. If we end up in the same house then, I will talk to him. But if we're not then, I will try not to spend as much time with him.

He noticed me glancing at him and I quickly shifted my gaze away, instead, to Melissa, who had just arrived to stand with us, looking uncomfortable.

"I have to go through the Sorting with you," Melissa said, "What a great way to start off the year."

"We embarrass you?" I asked.

"It's nothing personal," Melissa said. "But I'd rather be with kids my own age."

"I'm sure you'll be fine," I said, "I'm sure you're not the only one who has missed their Sorting."

"I certainly hope not," Melissa said.

Klaus began to talk about the Sorting and the four houses. I smiled to show Klaus that I was listening, but the pit in my stomach was making me too nervous to even talk.

"You look like you're going to faint," Klaus said, with a chuckle.

"I can't even think about that," I said, "I'm far too nervous."

"Me too," Klaus admitted. "But we'll be together and safe from Count Olaf. Hogwarts is protected by enchantments that make impossible for a Muggle to enter."

"That's a relief," I said.

"I wish my visions would work when I wanted them too," Melissa said, "At least, I would know what to expect."

"We can handle this," I said, trying to be more positive like Klaus. "We've faced the unknown many times before and this is probably the first time that it's not trying to kill us."

"Not helping, J," Mel said. "I was almost swallowed by it."

"Me too," Fiona said, with a shudder. "I'm not too nervous. I've been reading the book _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi_. I can't wait to study magical species of mushrooms."

I sighed. It bothered me when Fiona started blabbing away about mushrooms.

"You'll probably do well in Herbology," Klaus said.

Just then, several white blurs flew into the room and several students screamed. I realized they were ghosts. We all stopped what we were doing as a ghost named Peeves began to taunt us. They floated away shortly. Every moment in this school seemed like it contained an adventure.

Professor McGonagall returned then, and told us to go with her into the Great Hall for The Sorting. We followed her back into the Entrance Hall and stood before a pair of heavy wooden doors. They swung open slowly and we were ushered into a grand room where lit candles floated in mid-air over four long tables. The tables were set with glittering gold plates and goblets and students of all ages sat around them, almost completely filling them. At the front was another long table where older wizards and witches sat, presumably the teachers. One of them had a long, white beard and twinkling blue eyes behind a pair of half-moon glasses perched on his nose. I recognized him immediately: Albus Dumbledore.

My stomach filled with butterflies.

Professor McGonagall led us towards the teacher's table. We organized ourselves in a line facing the other students and ghosts. I'd overheard Ron say we had to do some kind of test. That really made me nervous because I didn't know anything about using magic. I looked up to see what looked like the starry sky.

"It's not really the sky," Klaus said, noticing my gaze "I read about it in _Hogwarts, A History_."

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," Hermione added to me, glancing briefly at Klaus. I nodded, stepping closer to Klaus. I already had enough to worry about with Fiona here.

Professor McGonagall placed a stool in front of us. On top of the stool she put a pointed, old wizard's hat. A rip on its brim opened wide and it began to sing:

"_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,_

_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself up if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep bowler's black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,_

_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring nerve and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_And_ _unafraid of toil;_

_Or in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_If you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!"_

The whole hall erupted into applause when he finished singing about the different houses. Then Professor McGonagall stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.

She called. "Hannah Abbot!"

A blonde girl with pigtails stumbled to the stool, put on the hat and sat down. We all waited in silence wondering what would happen.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

There was cheering and clapping as Hannah went to sit at the Hufflepuff table.

"Baudelaire, Klaus!"

"Good luck!" I whispered, as he made his way to the stool, a little nervously and sat down with the hat on his head. The hat sat on Klaus' head for much longer. I heard all I needed from the Sorting hat's song. He was probably going to be in Ravenclaw. He was so smart. Though I kind of hoped not. I wouldn't stand a chance of getting in there.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat roared. I smiled in delight. It seemed the perfect house for Klaus. He was so smart. As Klaus rose, his robes changed into the Ravenclaw colors of blue and black. The Ravenclaw table, at the far left, exploded with cheering and clapped as Klaus sat down at their table. He smiled at me, making my heart flutter. I managed a nervous smile in return.

More people were sorted then and there were a few more Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, Slytherins, and some Ravenclaws.

"Granger, Hermione!"

I wished her luck and Hermione went very quickly over to the stool. She placed the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" I heard Ron, Harry Potter's friend groan. Another surprise. I suppose the Sorting hat was not as predictable as I thought. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing for me.

"Kornbluth, Charlie!"

My eyes widened as I watched a familiar face approach the hat. I was so glad to see Charlie was okay after everything. I never found out what happened to the recruits.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.

"Longbottom, Neville!"

The boy with the toad clumsily tripped on his way to the stool. He sat on the stool for a long time. The hat finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Neville went off with the hat still on his head, and had to go back, as students erupted with laughter, to hand it to the next student, Morag MacDougal.

"Malfoy, Draco!"

I watched Draco Malfoy walk toward the stool when his name was called. He glanced at me while he placed the hat on his head. I gave him a small smile.

"SLYTHERIN!"

He went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle, looking pleased, but not before glimpsing at me again.

"Murray, Jamie!"

My smile faded as I realized it was my turn. I swallowed. My heart was pounding loud in my ears as I walked over to the stool. Some whispers echoed through the hall again at my name. I sat down, placing the hat on my head. All I kept thinking was that I probably didn't belong anywhere. I glanced at Klaus who smiled at me and then, at Draco Malfoy, who wore a sour expression.

"Hmm," said a voice in my ear. "A tricky one. Good mind. Slytherin could unleash another part of you that could bring you great success. And you're very loyal and just. You would really fit as a Hufflepuff, but it seems your loyalties have a tendency to sway sometimes."

I began to worry that my past mistakes would end up putting me somewhere like Slytherin where I would be considered a bad witch. I knew Count Olaf would be delighted by that, saying that I belonged there after everything I did.

I squeezed my eyes shut. I just wanted to be with Klaus. _Please Ravenclaw. Please. _

"You want to be in Ravenclaw?" the hat said. "You do have a keen mind, but there are other virtues of yours that stand out. It would be a shame not to become the best person you can be. Hufflepuff could make you into that kind of person. But will it really benefit you in the long-run? I think not. You'll do well in GRYFFINDOR!"

The colors of my robe changed to red and gold and I removed the hat. I sighed in relief that I was done, trying to brush away my worried thoughts. I joined Hermione, but my eyes met Klaus' a new wave of sadness washing over me. I didn't want to be separated from him. I felt a pang in my heart as I sat gloomily beside Hermione. I was afraid before, but I at least hoped that I could face my fears with Klaus by my side. But of course, it seemed the world was at a constant mission to tear us apart.

I sighed and turned my attention back to the rest of the first years. There were only a few left now.

"Potter, Harry!"

Whispers broke out in the hall.

Harry Potter slid the hat over his head. He sat there for a moment—

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I joined in with the cheering this time as Harry joined us. I congratulated him after he shook hands with a tall boy with red hair and freckles and a silver _P_ on his robes. While, a couple of older twin boys yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"

All three boys looked strangely like Ron Weasley and must be the brothers he had been talking about.

"Sampson, Melissa!"

Melissa put the hat on the head, ignoring the whispers. The hat sat there for a few minutes. Melissa frowned as the hat deliberated. Students began to whisper again after waiting ten minutes.

"It's called a hat stall," Hermione said, "Usually they only last about five minutes. This is quite rare really."

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat finally announced. Melissa hurried to the Gryffindor table as they erupted into applause again. People were still gawking at her.

"That was embarrassing," Melissa said, as she sat down beside me. "I thought he was going to give up."

"Why did it take so long?" Hermione asked.

Melissa shrugged. "Couldn't make up his mind I guess," Melissa said. "It's probably because it's so old."

"Thomas, Dean!"

The hat chorused another Gryffindor. Soon it was Ron Weasley's turn. His face turned a sickly shade of green as he placed the hat on his head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted within seconds.

I clapped as Ron joined us. He collapsed in a chair next to Harry.

Ron's brother with the badge congratulated him.

"Widdershins, Fiona!"

I watched as Fiona went to the stool. She put the hat on her head. '_Not Gryffindor, Not Gryffindor_,' I thought.

"RAVENCLAW!"

I groaned. She walked off to join Ravenclaw with a smug look on her face as she sat down beside Klaus. She turned to look over her shoulder and met my gaze, giving me a sly grin.

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore rose to his feet then. Dumbledore stood, beaming at us. His arms were open wide, seeming very pleased to see everybody here. I couldn't stop a smile from appearing at the corners of my mouth.

"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat back down while everybody clapped and cheered.

To my surprise, the tables were now covered in loads of food in large platters. There was enough food to fill Australia. I had never seen so much food in my life. It brought me back to the when Olaf had cruelly starved me. I shuddered, brushing the memory away. I turned my attention to the feast, taking some of everything.

I munched on my food, realizing then, just how hungry I was. Everyone around me began to chat in their respective groups while I solemnly cut up my steak, wishing I had someone to talk to. There was always Melissa, who was engaging in a conversation with some older looking girls. But she was a third year and wouldn't be in the same classes as me. Hermione was nice too, but she wasn't Klaus.

I picked aimlessly at my food, feeling anxious.

"What's the matter?" Hermione asked. "You look upset."

I shrugged. "I'm happy to be here," I said, "and I'm happy I got into Gryffindor. But I didn't think I would have to do this alone."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "You wish Klaus was with you," she said, "honestly, I hoped that would be the case. You endured so much hardship and were apart for so long. But it's not a permanent separation this time. You'll still get to see each other."

"I hope you're right," I said, "You're very smart. I wonder why you weren't put in Ravenclaw too."

"The Sorting hat seriously considered it," Hermione said, "but I really wanted to be in Gryffindor. I suppose you can never know where the hat is going to put you."

"Actually the Sorting hat was considering putting me in Hufflepuff," I said, "but I suppose I wasn't loyal or honest enough. I suppose that makes sense. But I don't think I belong in Gryffindor."

"Why not?" Hermione asked sounding surprised.

"I think I was placed in the wrong house," I said, "I'm nothing close to brave or daring or bold. I couldn't even cross the lake without being terrified."

"Are you kidding?" Hermione said, in slight exasperation, "You're the bravest person I know. When I was reading about your lives, I admired you the most because of your courage. You changed my entire outlook on life. I realized that there are more important things than books."

"Thanks," I said, flattered, though it didn't really convince me.

"I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" Ron Weasley said. "My brothers told me about you—you're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began stiffly, but a boy with sandy-haired interrupted.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"

Sir Nicolas didn't seemed pleased with the direction the conversation was going.

"Like this," he said irritably. He pulled his neck off so that it was hanging as if it was on a hinge. Someone must have beheaded him and did not do a clean job. I stared at him, shocked and a little grossed out. That seemed to please Nearly Headless Nick and he flipped his head back onto his neck.

"So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."

My gaze turned towards the Slytherin table where a nasty looking ghost with robes stained with silver blood was right beside Draco Malfoy, who didn't look too pleased. His eyes flickered to meet mine. In less than a second, he was frowning at me. Did I do something to upset him? He looked away. I turned back to Hermione who noticed where I was looking.

"Who is that boy?" Hermione asked. "I don't think I have met him yet."

"Draco Malfoy," I said, "We shared a compartment on the train. He's not too nice though. I mean, he's in Slytherin for a reason. He doesn't like wizards or witches who have Muggle parents. He got the impression that I was a Pureblood, though."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"It's a long story," I said. "I don't think it's lasted though. He doesn't seem to like me anymore."

Hermione shrugged. "I wouldn't let it bother you," she said, "I know it shouldn't bother me. It seems like there are plenty of other students here who have Muggle parents or at least, they don't share the same prejudiced views."

"You're right," I said, "well, even if I don't have Klaus with me, I'm glad to have a friend who's as well read as him."

Hermione beamed. "Oh I could never be as good as Klaus….could I?"

"I'm sure you already are," I said as I continued to eat. After a moment, the food disappeared from our plates and the deserts appeared. There was ice cream, apple pies, jam donut, fresh fruit, chocolate éclairs, and an assortment of other delicious deserts. My mood was lifted for a moment as I reached for anything chocolate I saw. I also added some fruit to be healthy. I was mostly excited that I could select any desert I wanted. And it wasn't a dream and Carmelita wasn't here to steal it all. Finally, I got to have chocolate ice cream, something I never had often. I felt a new sense of freedom that I never imagined I would ever feel. The ability to finally make my own decisions.

"I'm half-and-half," said a boy with sandy hair, as the conversation turned to family. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."

The others laughed. "What about you, Neville?" said Ron Weasley.

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said the boy with the toad named Trevor, "but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced - all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here - they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

"What about you?" the boy with sandy hair said, looking on his other side at me. "I don't think we've met. I'm Seamus Finnigan and this is Neville Longbottom."

"I'm Jamie Murray," I said, holding out my hand to shake his. I turned to Neville Longbottom and he held out a quivering hand for me to shake.

"Hello," he said.

"Are your parents wizards?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

"No," I said, growing increasingly shy as I hoped my blood would not scare them off. They didn't seem to be bothered by it at all. "I'm a Muggleborn. Though my parents didn't exactly raise me either."

"Did your gran raise you?" Neville asked, looking hopeful.

"No," I said, "I went to boarding school for most of my life and in the last year I was sort of moved from home to home. I've never really stayed in anyone's care for long. Right now, my aunt Renée is taking care of me. She's a witch too.

"Are you from a different country?" Seamus Finnigan asked. "If you don't mind me asking."

"No, not at all," I said, "I was born in America."

His eyes widened. "You're an American?" he said. "Blimey. I thought I recognized your accent. You must be good to have been accepted to Hogwarts rather than the American schools. They don't have nearly as great of a reputation."

"So how did you find out you were magic?" Seamus Finnigan asked.

"Well, I had several unusual instances," I said. "There were these two girls at my boarding school who were giving me a hard time and I accidentally turned their hair red and green, and their faces swelled up." I chuckled. "It was pretty funny."

Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom laughed. "That's hilarious," Seamus Finnigan said, "I wish I could have been there to see that."

We continued to talk a bit about magic and classes we were excited about. They talked about stuff like Charms and Transfiguration. We talked about the teachers and how there were four Heads of Houses for each house, Professor McGonagall for Gryffindor, Professor Flitwick for Ravenclaw, Professor Sprout for Hufflepuff, and Professor Snape for Slytherin. They said that Snape was rumored to be the worst because he favored the Slytherins and took away many points from other houses, especially Gryffindors.

The desserts disappeared after a bit, and Professor Dumbledore rose to speak again.

"Ahern - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.

"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

I frowned. Was he serious? Though after all the things I've seen today, I couldn't help but believe him.

Harry laughed, but he was one of the few who did. "He's not serious?" he muttered to Percy.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. He gave his wand a little flick and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself into words.

"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:

"_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, _

_Teach us something please, _

_Whether we be old and bald, _

_Or young with scabby knees, _

_Our heads could do with filling, _

_With some interesting stuff, _

_For now they're bare and full of air,_

_Dead flies and bits of fluff, _

_So teach us things worth knowing, _

_Bring back what we've forgot, _

_Just do your best, we'll do the rest, _

_And learn until our brains all rot."_

Ron Weasely's twin brothers were left singing along to a very slow funeral march as Dumbledore conducted them. Everyone clapped, Dumbledore being the loudest.

"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Ron's older brother, Percy, beckoned us first years to follow him out of the Great Hall. We walked up the marble staircase and I gazed at all sides which were covered in portraits of moving people. We climbed the staircase for a long time, making me think of the staircase at 667 Dark Avenue.

At last, we stopped and I saw some walking sticks floating in the air before us. Percy stepped forward and the sticks began to come at him.

"Peeves," Percy whispered to us. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves—show yourself."

Peeves answered with a loud sound.

"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"

I heard a pop and then, a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating in the air with his legs crossed, holding the walking sticks.

"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!" He swooped at us suddenly and we all ducked.

"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.

Peeves stuck out his tongue and disappeared. The walking sticks fell on Neville Longbottom's head. Peeves flew away quickly, rattling coats of armor as he passed.

"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as we carried on. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.

"Password?" she said.

"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. We hurried inside and I found that I was now in the Gryffindor common room. It looked very cozy with squashy armchairs.

Percy showed us to the girls' dormitory and I trudged upstairs with Hermione, who was still chattering about things she learned from Hogwarts, A History. As nice as Hermione was, I did not want to have to hear her talking nonstop about this book throughout the entire year. But I wasn't about to raise any protests on this. Hermione was the only friend I had right now.

We entered our room and found that there were five four-poster beds with deep red, velvet curtains. I saw that my trunks as well as Bonnie's cage had already been brought up. She saw me and began to meow excitedly. I immediately went to let her out and she leapt into my arms. I gave her a quick kiss on her pink nose and set her down on the bed to stretch her legs.

"She's so cute," one of my roommates with long, black hair said as she got ready for bed. "What's her name?"

"I named her Bonnie Bodicea," I said, "But I just call her Bonnie or Bo."

"I have a pet rabbit at home," a girl with dirty blonde hair said. "Her name is Binky. I'm Lavender Brown by the way."

"I'm Parvarti Patil," the girl with black hair announced.

"I'm Jamie Murray," I said mustering a smile.

"I'm Fay Dunbair," said one of the girls who was lying on her bed.

"I'm Valerye Burns," one of the girls replied.

"Aren't you so excited?" Lavender said. "I can't wait to start learning spells."

Hermione, who was lying on her bed with her head buried into one of her books, glanced up at that. "I am too," she said, sliding out of the bed and putting her book down. "There's so much to learn. I've learned all the course books by heart."

"Oh wow," Parvati Patil said exchanging a glance with Lavender. "You're really…prepared then."

"Well, I'm tired," Fay said. Everyone agreed and we settled in for the night.

As I got into bed, I thought about Klaus being in another common room in another part of the castle and I began to feel upset all over again. I needed Klaus to be near me, and now that we were separated, I was afraid of spending most of my days alone. And knowing that I was probably going to spend another sleepless night tossing and turning, and having nightmares, wasn't exactly appealing. I closed my tired eyes as Bonnie curled around my head and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

**Review!**


	4. Broken and New Friendships

**New chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Four: Broken and New Friendships**

_**Jamie Murray**_

I woke up abruptly and sat up in bed, after having another nightmare. This time I was walking along the path to Hogwarts when a sinister shadow with shiny eyes appeared to drag me into the Forbidden Forest. I shuddered and wiped the tears from my eyes. I put my head in my hands, trying to forget the painful dream.

It was still early and I wasn't about to fall back asleep. I was much too anxious. Today would be the first day of classes and that thought scared me. What if I was the only one in the class who couldn't do magic? They would all laugh at me for sure.

Bonnie was curled in my lap and I gently shifted her to the side so I could get up. I opened my trunk of clothes and began to load the contents into the wardrobe provided. It was full of clothes that Renée had bought for me. Though they seemed a little different than what I was used to. Though, my past outfits consisted of plain t-shirts and pants from Good Will. After I finished, I showered and got ready. Wanting to look extra nice, I spent extra time fixing my hair until it was straight and smooth. By the time I was ready the other girls were beginning to wake.

When Hermione was dressed and ready we headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast. I wasn't too hungry and nibbled on some toast. Melissa met up with us and sat with me, telling me about making some friends last night.

Klaus came over then, dressed in his houses robes. I immediately got up and crushed him into a hug.

"Good morning," Klaus said, "How are you doing?"

"I'm hanging in there," I said. "I wish we didn't have to be apart."

"Me too," Klaus said, "but it's not so bad. We'll still get to see each other."

"Not as much as I'd like to," I said.

"How about we meet up somewhere at lunch?" Klaus suggested. "Somewhere on the school grounds. There's a nice spot by the lake I saw earlier this morning."

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"Fiona wanted to see the lake," Klaus said, "She's a bit homesick so I offered to go with her to keep her company."

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my frown.

"So you'll meet me?" Klaus asked.

I nodded. "I'll be there," I said.

Suddenly hundreds of owls came flying in through the open windows. They flew around until they found their owners. Klaus' owl, Atticus found us and delivered a letter from Renée checking up on us. She told us that Violet, Sunny, Beatrice, and the Quagmires were well and happy. They were going to school and continuing to pursue their interests. Lastly, Renée told us not to worry too much about fitting in, though; I knew she was mostly referring to me. It comforted me a bit to know that she was concerned about me. It made me kind of homesick. I planned on writing some letters back tonight. I missed them and I wished I could just talk to Renée or Violet or any of my other amazing friends about what I was going through.

"You're still nervous, aren't you?" Klaus said, "I can tell because of the creases on your forehead. You need to relax. You're going to be okay."

"Do you think I'm going to be good at magic?" I asked.

Klaus smiled. "I wouldn't doubt it for a second," he said. "We can talk some more later on." He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

We bid each other goodbye, much to my disappointment, and I hurried to catch up with Hermione.

"Come on," she said, "we can't be late."

We had Double Potions first. This class was combined with the Slytherins and I hurried along with Hermione as she chatted avidly about the types of plants we would be studying in the future. I tuned her out, muttering little 'hmms' and 'ohs' every now and then. Trying to catch a break from Hermione, I told her to go on ahead as I went to the girls' bathroom. I fixed my hair, making sure it still looked nice. After a moment, I headed back out and hurried to Potions. One thing I should have taken into account was that I barely knew where the classroom was. The school was like a maze and getting lost was easy. I tried desperately to find the right way to go. My foot almost fell through on of the trick stairs that you were supposed to jump over. I managed to reach the bottom floor in three minutes so I only had two minutes to spare.

I was running so fast to where I thought was the right way to Potions, that I ran smack into someone who had been headed in the opposite direction. I fell backwards and landed on my butt, dropping my bag with my books.

"Watch where you're going," a voice cried, in irritation. I stiffened. I recognized that voice. I looked up and met Draco Malfoy's gray eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," I sputtered.

He scowled. "Of course it was you," he said, "You should be sorry, you could have given me a concussion." He stood up and rubbed his forehead. "Where were you going anyways?"

"Potions," I said as I got to my feet.

Draco Malfoy glared at me. "Potions is _this_ way," he said, "the direction _I_ was headed before you ran into me." He headed toward a staircase that looked like it led to the dungeons.

I hurried to catch up, hoping to ask him why he was acting so strangely.

"Wait," I said.

"What do you want?" Draco Malfoy asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," I said.

"Well, I'm not interested," he said, quickening his pace.

"Please," I said, "I'll be at the tree by the lake if you want to meet me after classes."

"Don't count on it," he replied. "Now, will you bugger off?"

At that, he stormed into the classroom. I stayed behind, a little hurt by his words. I shook them off and entered the room after a moment, finding an empty seat beside Hermione. I glanced over at Draco Malfoy who kept his gaze straight ahead. Though by the hatred in his eyes, I knew he felt my gaze on him. I didn't understand it. How could someone go from being your friend to hating your guts? Unless…maybe he knew about me being a Muggleborn now. I suppose that would make sense. But I didn't like the thought. It seemed ridiculous to carry around that much hate for someone because of their blood status.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, breaking my thoughts. "You look like something's troubling you."

I shrugged. "I'm fine," I said, "just a little worried about Potions. I heard Snape was a mean teacher."

At that moment, a figure came bursting into the room looking ominous like a bat. He had a hooked nose and dark hair, and strode to the front of the classroom. His face was set in an angry glare. I was right to be worried about Potions. Professor Snape immediately began insulting Harry Potter for being famous while the Slytherins, particularly Draco Malfoy snickered at him. He took a point away from Gryffindor for no good reason.

If that wasn't bad enough, I could hardly stay focused. Every time I listened, out of a mixture of excitement about the subject and hatred for Professor Snape, I would get a creepy feeling like I did in my nightmares. Except these occurred when I was fully awake. I tried to carry on, but every few seconds, I had to glance at the door or at the window to make sure I was safe. Before, Count Olaf always seemed to pop up out of nowhere when we least expected it. I began to worry that he had somehow escaped from prison and was hiding in Hogwarts. What if he was in disguise as a teacher? I narrowed my eyes at Professor Snape, and despite having a similar aura of menace, he didn't look at all like Count Olaf.

"Jamie!" Hermione was hissing at me.

I snapped out of my thoughts and saw her trying to get my attention.

"I've been trying to get your attention," Hermione said, sounding a little impatient. "Is everything all right?"

"Sorry, I'm fine," I muttered. "I'm just tired."

"Let's just focus on our potion," Hermione said, "try to stay awake."

I nodded and we got to work on our potion. Poor Neville Longbottom knocked his potion over, getting covered in boils. Professor Snape blamed the whole thing on Harry Potter and we lost another house point.

It didn't get any better throughout the rest of the day. The slightest sound, like the clicking of a lock or the sound of footsteps. I couldn't focus and every now and then I would think about Draco Malfoy and how much he hated me. And that made me so angry. He had no right to behave that way towards me. I never did anything wrong.

All of the other classes were all very exciting. There was Charms with Professor Flitwick who was so short he had to stand on a pile of books when he taught us. The spells were definitely not easy to learn, but I really enjoyed his class. He was also the conductor of the choir that met every Wednesday after classes. I made a note to join. We also had Transfiguration, which was harder than I thought. Professor McGonagall was very strict and did not show any favoritism toward us. However when she got to my name on the roll call she gave me one of her rare smiles. I remembered that she was the person I had sent my letter to rejecting the opportunity. I kept growing increasingly frustrated when I couldn't get the spell to work. Hermione nailed it in one go, also receiving a smile from Professor McGonagall, and spent the rest of the time trying to help me.

We got a break to go to lunch, and I found that I was starving after not eating enough at breakfast. I ate hastily and then, met up with Klaus to talk about our day. I told him about Potions. I didn't mention anything about my hallucinations or my plans to meet Draco Malfoy.

After lunch, I had Herbology in the greenhouse, taught by Professor Sprout. We learned how to care for magical plants and herbs and how they are used. It was interesting to see that magic went beyond just reciting the spells and waving a wand. Also, the class was combined with Hufflepuffs and I got to talk to Charlie Kornbluth for a bit. Apparently, he received a letter shortly after Fiona and her brother rescued the recruits. I grimaced at that thought, knowing what I was doing during that time—becoming one of Olaf's recruits. I told him about Renée and the others at home. I invited him to visit us sometime if he wanted. He was an orphan now too and was being raised by some relatives. Next was Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Quirrell. He was a really strange teacher who wore a turban and stuttered a lot. His turban made me think of when Count Olaf wore one when he was Coach Genghis and when I saw him, I had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't Count Olaf in disguise. I was a little suspicious of his turban, because of that. I knew all too well that turbans could be used to conceal things. The last class of the day, History of Magic, was by far the most boring. First of all, the teacher, Professor Binns, was a ghost and his lectures went on for hours. He was more boring than Mr. Remora from Prufrock Prep.

Finally, classes ended and we were free for the rest of the day to do some work and relax. Only Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape gave us real homework, of course. So I headed out to the grounds, telling Hermione that I would meet her in the library, after waiting to see if Draco Malfoy would actually show up.

* * *

_**Draco Malfoy**_

Classes ended with Transfiguration and I scowled at Professor McGonagall as I left. That old bag was always taking points away from the Slytherins. Though I was sure she treated the Gryffindor's equally as sternly. I made some snide comments to Crabbe and Goyle as we left and headed out to the grounds, hopefully to pick on some weak Hufflepuffs. I pushed open the heavy doors to the grounds. The sun was out and the air smelled like cut grass and smoke. The smoke must have been coming from the hut that belonged to that oaf of a gamekeeper, whatever his name was. We walked along the path near the lake. I glanced over to the lake and my eyes were drawn to a small blond girl. Jamie. She was sitting under the oak tree with her knees tucked with a textbook resting on her thighs. She had her wand out and a feather. The sight of her made me pause in my stride, causing Crabbe and Goyle to give me peculiar looks.

I broke my gaze away and back to my friends. "Why don't you go on ahead?" I said, "I have some matters to take care of."

They hesitated and I narrowed my eyes. "Go on," I demanded.

As always they grumbled some 'yes''s and left without question. I glanced around to make sure no one was looking my way and was relieved to see this part of the grounds was relatively quiet. My eyes rested on Jamie again and I walked over to her. I really wasn't looking forward to meeting Jamie, but I knew I had to. I had to tell her that we couldn't be friends or even talk to each other. Otherwise, she would keep trying to talk to me and it would make it that much harder to stay away from her.

She didn't notice me approach.

"What did you want to discuss with me?" I demanded, making her jump and look up at me in surprise with her wide blue eyes. "Make it brief. I don't like waiting."

"I thought you weren't going to show," she said.

"Well, I changed my mind," I said, curtly.

"Are you angry with me?" Jamie asked, uncertainly. "I thought we were friends."

"Friends?" I scoffed. "Of course not."

"I don't understand why you were so nice to me on the train," she said, as she got to her feet, "and now it's like you're a completely different person. What's the matter with you? Why do you seem to hate me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" I said. "You're in Gryffindor now."

"Why does that matter?" she asked.

"It means we can't be friends," I said, tersely. "We're rivals."

"That's ridiculous," Jamie said, "Just because we're in different houses doesn't mean we have to be enemies. I'm still friends with Klaus and he's in Ravenclaw."

"Gryffindor and Slytherin have been rivals since the school was founded," I said, "It's tradition."

"So what?" she said, "Then, _break _the tradition."

"I don't want to," I said._ Break_ the tradition? My father certainly wouldn't approve of _that_. And neither did I.

Jamie frowned at me. "Well, too bad I never actually considered you a friend," she spat between gritted teeth. "Oh, and by the way, I'm _also_ a Muggleborn."

"I _know_," I growled. I _hated_ that she was a Muggleborn. "But how is your aunt a Pureblood? Or did you lie about that too?"

"She _is_ a Pureblood," Jamie explained, "but she was my Muggle mother's adopted sister."

"Well now there are two reasons why we can't be friends," I said. "In fact, I shouldn't even be talking to _you_ right now." I turned to leave.

"Then why did you come?" she said in fury, following after me. "You didn't have to meet with me."

Her question caught me off guard. I turned back to her. Her blue eyes were hard as they searched mine for answers. "I thought I would clarify a few things that's all. Why do _you_ even care if we're friends or not?"

"Maybe it shouldn't matter to me," Jamie confessed, "You know, a lot of people say that Slytherins are mean and hateful. But after everything I've learned from my troubles, I know better than to make assumptions about people because of things they can't change. I was willing to give you a chance to prove that you were different…that you were better than the rest of them."

I stared at her for a second. After everything she's learned? What did _she_ know? I suppose because her parents were dead she thought she was superior to the rest of us. Like Potter.

"I'm not ashamed of who I am, unlike you," I said, "You lied to me about who you were. If you ask me, that isn't exactly 'noble' behavior for someone who is criticizing mine. I guess we're not so different after all. Well, I wouldn't say we're similar in any_ other_ way. _You're_ a filthy _Mudblood_ and _I'm_ as _Pure _as can be. Also, just because your parents are dead doesn't mean you know more than the rest of us. It just makes you an _orphan_."

It was Jamie's turn to fall silent. She was hurt, clearly.

"Maybe you should have listened to your friends," I said.

I glared at her, feeling triumphant as I began to walk away. I had only taken a few steps away when I heard her reply, in almost a whisper:

"You know nothing about me."

I glanced back at her, meeting her soft blue eyes and saw an indescribable sorrow in them that struck my very core. I almost found myself regretting my words.

Immediately, I shifted my gaze away from her eyes, hopefully, before my face could give anything away.

"Don't try to talk to me anymore," I said, finally. "We were _never_ friends. And we _never_ will be."

At that, I turned and headed back into the castle, trying to regain my composure. She was just a Mudblood. Her pain shouldn't matter to me. I had to remind myself of that.

* * *

_**Melissa Sampson**_

I was not at all looking forward to my first day of classes. I had to take double the classes to catch up to the third year level, except for Care of Magical Creatures and Divination. The extra lessons would be just the professor teaching me individually. Hermione who was Jamie's new friend offered to tutor me. It felt awkward asking an eleven year old to teach me, but Jamie assured me that Hermione was the best tutor I could find.

I had Potions in the morning on Friday. I despised Potions because we had to share it with the Slytherins. I trudged into class choosing a seat next to Angelina Johnson. She had seemed the nicer of my roommates. My other roommates were not nearly as nice. They spent a lot of the time whispering about me because I had entered Hogwarts so late. Then, there was the fact that I had one of the longest hat stalls in the history of Hogwarts, according to Hermione. The problem was the Sorting hat couldn't decide if I was better suited for Gryffindor or Slytherin. He kept saying things like there was this part of me that showed I could be destined for darkness and evil. I just rolled my eyes. Maybe I could be bad-tempered at times, but I never thought of myself as evil.

Professor Snape started the class and we were to make boil-remover potions. Before we began, Professor Snape clarified that the Weasley twins were to work separately. George Weasley just shrugged.

"We'd be happy to work with someone else," he said, "We wouldn't want any _problems_."

Professor Snape glowered at them.

"Weasley number one, you can work with Taegan," he barked, gesturing from George Weasley to a Slytherin boy wearing a huge grin. "Weasley number two, you can work with her, whatever your name is." I realized he was pointing a scrawny finger in my direction.

The Weasley twins went off to their assigned partners, Fred Weasley heading in my direction. George Weasley didn't look too pleased with his partner.

Fred Weasley sat down in the seat across from me.

"Hello," he said with a friendly smile.

"Hello," I muttered. "All right let's get to work."

I went to grab some ingredients and Fred followed to help.

"And your name is?" he asked as I grabbed a supply of grass.

"You don't already know?" I said, bitterly. I couldn't stand people acting like I was an alien. "Does 'hat stall girl' ring a bell?"

He looked amused. "That was you?" he said.

"Go ahead and mock me," I said, "I don't care."

"Are you kidding?" Fred said, his brown eyes twinkling. "I thought that was bloody brilliant. You made history. It's an honor to meet you."

He winked and held out his hand. I kept mine to myself.

"I'm not Merlin or anything," I muttered, brushing past him to my seat.

Fred followed me back to our seat, sitting down across from me, as a grin flashed across his face.

"You're certainly much more attractive," he said.

"What?" I said, raising my eyebrows. "Beards don't suit your taste?"

"Not really," Fred said, "I prefer those who are beardless."

"Well,_ I_ _prefer_ to be called by my _actual_ name," I grumbled, "People don't seem to understand that."

"Right, we never did properly introduce ourselves," Fred said, "Why don't we start over? I'm Fred Weasley."

He held out his hand again. I sighed and this time I took it, shaking his hand briefly.

"I'm Melissa Sampson," I said.

"Melissa," Fred repeated. "I like it."

I rolled my eyes. "Enough flirting," I said, "we need to work."

I looked away and began working on the potion, chopping some roots up with the knife. Fred Weasley began skinning one of the other peculiar ingredients.

"So," Fred Weasley continued as we worked. "Why did that hat take so long? Couldn't decide where to place you?"

"Something like that," I muttered.

"Which houses?" he asked.

"A little nosy, much?" I said, "It's none of your business."

"Oh, come on," he said, "You can't just have a hat stall and provide no explanation."

"Why?" I said, "So I can feel even more like an outcast?"

Fred Weasley chuckled. "I think you're forgetting the fact that we're magic," he said, "Pretty much everyone here is far from ordinary. Besides, I happen to like outcasts." He leaned forward. "I'm one too."

"Maybe," I said, "but at least the whole school doesn't think you're mental."

"True," he said and then he smirked, "You aren't really mental, are you?"

I glowered at him and grabbed a handful of the grass, throwing it in his face. His expression was priceless and I shook with laughter, desperately trying to hide it. He joined in and picked up a handful of cut up roots, throwing those in my face, making us laugh harder.

"The ingredients are not for playing with, you fools," Professor Snape growled, appearing before us out of nowhere. Everyone turned to look in my direction and the Slytherins began to snicker amongst themselves. George Weasley grinned at us. Oh, great. "Maybe an evening detention will make you think twice next time about fooling around in my class. Five points from Gryffindor _each_." I could feel the glares from my roommates and didn't dare look at them.

We carried on with our potion, silently, until class was dismissed.

"Weasley and his girlfriend can stay behind to receive their punishment," Professor Snape demanded.

The class filed out, leaving Fred and I behind. George lingered by the door, exchanging a look with Fred.

Professor Snape loomed over us as he explained our punishment.

"You, Weasley, and your girlfriend…what is your name?"

"Melissa Sampson," I said. "And I'm not his girlfriend."

"You're the _new girl_, aren't you?" Professor Snape said.

"That's right," I said. "What's it to you?"

"You think you're so special because that dumb old hat couldn't decide where to place you?" Professor Snape sneered. "Perhaps it knew you were a little sneak."

"Actually, I don't think I'm all that special," I muttered. "I'd prefer it if that hadn't happened. I was only having a little fun. Jeez, lighten up."

Fred Weasley looked at me in amazement, his mouth agape. Professor Snape looked like he wanted to strangle me. I wasn't afraid of _him_. Compared to the Sinister Duo and Count Olaf, Professor Snape was benign.

"How dare you talk back to me," Professor Snape growled. "You've just given yourself a week of detention. And you can join her Weasley. I hope you enjoy scrubbing the desks. _Without_ magic."

"I think I'll manage," I said, rolling my eyes. I've had worse detentions than that. When I was at the New York boarding school and Alfonso who was really Count Olaf gave me detention, he spent the entire two hours talking about all of the awards he won. No detention could be worse than that.

"That's _two weeks!"_ Professor Snape roared. "Another word and I'll make it _two_ _months!"_

"We'll take it!" Fred Weasley cried before I could retort, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out into the corridor. George Weasley was waiting and looked at me with an incredulous expression.

"_Who are you?"_ he blurted.

"Melissa Sampson," I said, giving him an odd look.

"Otherwise known as hat-stall-girl," Fred Weasley added.

"That was _you_?" George Weasley cried, growing even more excited. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He took my hand to shake it eagerly.

"It's nice to meet you too…" I said to George Weasley before rounding on Fred Weasley. "I told you not to call me that. Do I need to throw something else at you?"

Fred Weasley grinned. "That won't be necessary," he said.

"Nice going in there," George Weasley said and Fred Weasley went back to staring at me in wonder.

"I've never seen anything like it," Fred said in admiration.

"Jeez," I said, "You two look like you're going to faint. It wasn't that great."

"No one _ever_ talks to Snape like that," George Weasley said. "They're all afraid of him."

"Well, I'm not," I said.

"Neither are we," Fred Weasley said.

"We're all about causing trouble with teachers," George Weasley said, "but even we have our limits."

"Let's just say I know Muggles who are more terrifying than he is," I said.

They exchanged glances again, still in awe. "I never thought of Muggles could be terrifying," Fred Weasley said.

"Well, they can be, trust me," I said, quickly. I did not want to get into all of the details with them. "Anyways, got to go. Can't be late."

I started down the corridor, wondering how I was going to get to Charms from here.

"Wait, Melissa," The twins said simultaneously as they caught up with me.

"Yes?" I said.

"Why don't you join us?" Fred Weasley asked.

"We know a short cut that will get us there in no time," George Weasley said.

"A short cut?" I said. It sounded suspicious. "That doesn't sound good to me."

"I thought you were a Gryffindor," George Weasley said.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" Fred Weasley said.

Fred and George were giving me goofy smiles.

"I do like adventures," I said with a smile. Despite being called hat-stall-girl, I was beginning to enjoy their company. "Let's go."

"I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Fred and George said, as they pulled me down a dimly lit corridor.

* * *

**Review!**

**Hope you enjoyed the many POV's! :)**

**Also, I posted a pic of Melissa on my profile and Renée as well!**


	5. The Midnight Duel

**New chapter! :)**

* * *

**Chapter Five: The Midnight Duel**

_**Jamie Murray**_

Classes continued as usual for the rest of the week, including an additional class, Astronomy. It took place in the Astronomy tower at midnight every Wednesday. We studied the stars and planets as well as the meaning of their position in space. It was one of my favorite classes. The enchanted telescopes could capture so much more detail than an average one. Also, it gave me an excuse to stay up late at nights when I couldn't sleep. I would just sit at the little nook at the window and gaze up at the sky, trying to find constellations.

I still found trouble focusing in classes and it didn't get any better as the days passed. I think some of the teachers were beginning to notice. Professor McGonagall asked me a question when I was having one of my 'episodes' and I panicked, not being able to think of the answer. Luckily, Lavender whispered the answer to me and I was saved, but I don't think Professor McGonagall was fooled. Hermione asked me about it after and I just said I was tired, which was not exactly a lie. Even Charms was difficult to get through and it was my favorite class.

It was comforting when I got to see Klaus at lunch and then at the end of classes. We talked about the things we learned and Klaus helped me out with some of the spells I found difficult. He was spending a lot of time with Fiona, I found out, but was beginning to make new friends. He made friends with a boy named Terry Boot, but he said that a lot of the Ravenclaws were really competitive when it came to academics. It made me a bit glad that I wasn't in that house. Klaus had the top grades among the first year Ravenclaws and some of them were becoming a bit jealous.

"It's nice to be around someone who isn't constantly trying to compete with me," Klaus said on Friday when we had our afternoons free of classes, since we just had Double Potions.

"It's nice to be around someone who isn't a know-it-all," I said. "Hermione is driving me crazy. It's good when we're doing homework because I can ask her for help, but she never stops bossing me around. I mean, you read a lot too and tell me about the books you've read, but you're not always talking about it or scolding me for 'cheating' just for asking Seamus or Parvati to help me with my Charms assignment. You know when enough is enough. Hermione does not."

"I'm sure she's not that bad," Klaus said.

"That's an understatement," I muttered.

I quickly changed the subject, telling him about joining the choir. I had auditioned on Wednesday and Professor Flitwick announced today, with a squeal of excitement, that I had gotten in.

"You should audition too," I urged Klaus. "You have a nice voice and it will give us a chance to see more of each other."

"I would really like that," Klaus said.

"Great!" I exclaimed. "Now I need your help with some spells."

Klaus spent the rest of the time teaching me the spells I was struggling with and I ended up being able to cast them smoothly afterwards.

"You're so great at magic," I said, "I never would have been able to do this without you."

"I don't think so," Klaus said. "You're better than you give yourself credit for."

* * *

_**Klaus Baudelaire**_

I bid Jamie goodbye and headed for my common room. Fiona was already there when I arrived and beckoned me to sit next to her on the dark blue sofa.

"Where were you?" she asked. "I couldn't find you after class."

"I was with Jamie," I said.

"Oh," Fiona said.

There was silence for a moment. I had tried as best as I could to make amends with Fiona after I chose Jamie over her. She seemed to be over it at times and we were able to be friends, but whenever I mentioned Jamie, she became slightly distant. I suppose it was kind of my fault and probably deserved it.

I sighed and sat back down, opening my book bag to get a head start on my homework. I usually completed it fairly quickly so that I could spend the rest of the evening reading the textbooks.

"What were you two doing?" Fiona asked.

"We just talked a bit about school," I said. "And Jamie needed some help with some spells."

"Oh," Fiona said, "they're not that hard. I was able to learn them almost immediately. But I suppose some Gryffindors lack the same kind of tenacity and skill."

I frowned and stood up. "Actually there are many Gryffindors who are just as talented, maybe even more," I said. "I know Jamie has that talent, but she's struggling. She spent all that time in Olaf's clutches. She still needs time to heal from that and I think it's very inconsiderate of you to say that about her."

"I'm sorry," Fiona said, "You're right. I think I'm just a little homesick still. Don't go. I promise I won't say anything like that again."

I sighed and sat back down, opening my book bag to get a head start on my homework. I usually completed it fairly quickly so that I could spend the rest of the evening reading the textbooks.

"Do you usually meet Jamie after class?" Fiona asked.

"No," I said, "mostly at lunch. Why is that important?"

"I was just curious," Fiona said, "It's just…I'm a bit concerned about what Jamie has been up to when you weren't around."

My frown returned. "What are you talking about?" I said. "I never asked you to concern yourself with Jamie in anyway except as her friend."

"But—" Fiona started.

"Enough," I cried. "I can't believe you, Fiona. You're just trying to make me see the worst in Jamie. But anything you say won't matter. I don't care what Jamie has done. I know who she is and that's enough for me."

"Oh, really?" Fiona said, "Then, why don't you ask Padma Patil? She'll tell you everything."

"About what?" I said. "Jamie hasn't done anything wrong."

"She's keeping things from you," Fiona said. "Padma Patil told me that her sister, Parvati, who's in Gryffindor, saw Jamie talking to Draco Malfoy after class on Monday by the lake. Did she tell you about that? I'm sure that certainly matters."

I glared at Fiona, shaking my head. "Well, I'm sure Jamie has a perfectly good reason for talking to Draco Malfoy," I said, "She's told me that he hasn't been very nice to her or the other Gryffindors. I'm not making any assumptions until I speak to Jamie directly."

I left Fiona and went into the boys' dormitory. I couldn't believe she was trying to make me mistrust Jamie. It didn't work though. After everything we've been through, I knew I could trust Jamie. I had to trust her. So what if she met with Draco Malfoy to talk? That didn't mean anything. And from what Jamie has told me, they seem to mutually hate each other. She talked to other boys like Seamus and Neville, but that was never a problem.

* * *

_**Jamie Murray**_

It was Thursday now and today was a bit different, since, it was our first flying lesson. I was so excited. The only problem was, the lesson would be with the Slytherins. Malfoy, who hadn't talked to me since the day he called me a Mudblood, constantly bragged about being amazing at Quidditch, a Wizarding sport involving flying. It seemed like most of the people with magical parents were already experienced with flying and were eager to show off.

"It must be incredible," I said to Seamus the morning of our flying lesson as we sat in the Great Hall. He was telling stories about flying around the countryside as a young boy. "I still can't believe flying exists."

"Yep," Seamus said, "There's nothing like it."

"I learned some tips for flying in a book called _Quidditch Through the Ages_," Hermione said. She launched into a lecture of all the things she learned.

Everyone turned away, seeming annoyed by Hermione's bossiness. Neville was the only one, besides me, who listened. He was just as terrified as Hermione was of flying. Unfortunately, flying wasn't something that Hermione could learn from reading a book.

Klaus came over to see me as the owls flew in to deliver our mail.

I gave him a hug as I usually did when I saw him. He seemed different this morning for some reason and pulled back from our hug abruptly.

"Did we get any mail?" Klaus asked, moving past me. He picked up a letter that Renée sent us another letter, checking up with us. She also sent us a small care package of Muggle candy and the carrier I had asked for to replace Bonnie's cage.

"Are you excited for flying lessons?" I asked.

"Of course," Klaus said, "though I'm also very nervous. You can't exactly learn how to fly by reading a book."

"I know," Hermione said as she came over to us, looking desperate. "I have no clue what I am going to do. I even read through _Quidditch Through the Ages_."

"Really?" Klaus said, "That sounds interesting. I'll have to take a look at it at some point once I've finished reading the books for our classes. I've finished the _Standard Book of Spells Grade 1_ and tried to learn some on my own."

"You did?" I said. "I've barely looked through mine."

"You should read them," Klaus said, "It's very helpful in class, especially if you're having a hard time learning some of the spells. I'm almost done with the book on Potions. I hope knowing the material will at least make the class bearable, even with Snape as the teacher."

"I tried that," Hermione said with a grimace. "He rarely calls on me. Mostly the Slytherins. You're lucky you don't have to deal with them."

"I need some more help with spells," I said, "maybe at lunch or this afternoon we can practice again."

"I'm sure you're fine," Klaus said, "I'd be happy to help you, of course. But I think you just need to trust yourself a little more, Jamie. I told you on the first day that I knew you were going to be an amazing witch. I still think so."

I smiled. "You're just saying that because it's your job," I said.

Klaus shook his head. "You know I would never say that if I didn't mean it," Klaus said.

"Stop making me miss you even more," I said, giving him a hug. "I wish we could learn how to fly together."

Klaus smiled. "Me too," he said, "Well, I have to get going. I'll see you at lunch." Klaus kissed my cheek before leaving.

I sat back down with Hermione as Neville was opening a package he received form his grandmother. It was a Remembrall.

"Gran knows I forget things - this tells you if there's something you've forgotten to do. Look, you hold it tight like this and if it turns red - oh..." The Remembrall had turned scarlet and his enthusiasm quickly faded.

"You've forgotten something..."

"Don't worry, Neville," I said, "I'm sure whatever you've forgotten will turn up."

"What could I have forgotten?" Neville said.

Just then, Draco Malfoy, who was walking by the Gryffindor table, grabbed the Remembrall from Neville's hand.

I jumped to my feet, ready to get it back for Neville no matter what it took. Klaus moved to back me up and when I glanced to my side, I saw that Harry and Ron were just as eager to pick a fight with Malfoy as I was.

"You return his Remembrall right now," I said, "It doesn't belong to you."

Malfoy was about to reply, when Professor McGonagall appeared before us. "What's going on?"

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor," Neville said.

Malfoy glared at Neville and dropped it back onto the table.

"Just looking," he said, walking away with Crabbe and Goyle following him.

We headed out to the grounds for our flying lesson. It was a nice day out, the sun was shining brightly and no clouds lingered in the sky.

Madame Hooch arrived. She had short, grey hair and piercing yellow eyes.

"Well, what are you all waiting for?" she barked. "Everyone stand by a broomstick. Come on, hurry up."

I hurried to find a spare broomstick. It was a very old looking broom. I hoped it would be good enough for flying. I was excited to fly, but I've never ridden anything before. I didn't even know how to ride a bike, let alone fly on a broomstick. I listened carefully to the instructions, not wanting to fall behind.

"Stick out your right hand over your broom," called Madam Hooch at the front, "and say 'Up!"'

"UP!" I shouted with everyone.

My broom wobbled a bit. I noticed Harry's broom jump up immediately. Malfoy's broom shot up shortly after. He glared at me and I glared back. It was only further motivation to become a good flyer.

"UP!" I cried again, channeling in my determination and pushing back my fears, and the broom fastened itself in my grasp, instantly, even before Seamus' had. I caught Malfoy's gaze again and grinned. He just continued to glower at me, though, I knew I had gotten to him. Good.

I gazed around at other people and found that not everyone had been nearly as successful. Hermione's broom only rolled around a bit. Neville's broom didn't even move an inch.

"How did you do that?" Hermione said, looking horrified that she was one of the only people who couldn't get their broom to lift off the ground.

"Don't be afraid of it," I said.

Madam Hooch demonstrated how to mount a broom, without falling off the end and examined our grips. I was pleased to see that Malfoy had been doing the wrong grip for years. So much for being an expert at flying.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," Madam Hooch said. "Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle - three - two -"

I was getting ready to move off the ground, excited to leave the earth for just a moment. But Neville's nerves kicked in and he pushed hard off the ground too early.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted. But it was useless. Neville rocketed up about twenty feet. Neville gasped as he caught sight of the ground being so far away and fell off his broom. He plummeted to the ground, landing with a large thud, face down in the grass.

Madam Hooch rushed over to Neville.

"Broken wrist," She muttered. "Come on, boy - it's all right, up you get." She turned to address the class.

"None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dear."

Madam Hooch led Neville away.

When they were out of earshot, Malfoy burst into laughter."Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins joined in.

I glared at him, reminded of all the times Carmelita and her friends had laughed at me.

"Shut up, Malfoy," I snapped.

"Ooh, sticking up for Longbottom?" Pansy Parkinson said. "Never thought you'd like fat little crybabies, Murray. But then, you would suit each other. Seeing as you're both _ugly_."

"You're calling _me_ ugly?" I said, considering throwing a punch if she tried anything else. "Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

Pansy Parkinson stepped towards me, as if she was going to start throwing more insults at me.

"Why you little-"

"Look!" Malfoy said, interrupting Pansy and grabbing Neville's Remembrall. "It's that stupid thing Longbottom's gran sent him."

"Give that here, Malfoy," Harry said quietly.

Malfoy smiled nastily.

"I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find—how about—up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Harry yelled. Malfoy paid no attention and got on to his broomstick, taking off.

"Come and get it, Potter!"

Harry grabbed his broom.

"No!" Hermione cried. "Madam Hooch told us not to move—you'll get us all into trouble."

Harry ignored her, mounting his broomstick and soaring towards Malfoy. I gasped at Harry's skill. He seemed to be a natural and I don't remember him saying he had any previous experience.

"What an idiot," Hermione said to me.

"Are you kidding?" I said, "He's brilliant. Go Harry!"

Malfoy looked stunned.

"Give it here," Harry called, "or I'll knock you off that broom!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Malfoy, though he looked a bit worried.

Harry flew at Malfoy, but he dodged it just in time. Some people were clapping and I joined in, much to Hermione's annoyance.

"No Crabbe and Goyle up here to save your neck, Malfoy," Harry called. Malfoy seemed to have already realized that and looked nervous.

"Catch it if you can, then!" he shouted, tossing the ball up, before flying to the ground.

The Remembrall was falling through the air as quickly as Malfoy had and Harry dove at it, catching it just about a foot away from the ground and had just enough time to adjust his broom. He rolled softly onto the grass, the Remembrall still in his grasp.

I couldn't believe my eyes and I was about to express my enthusiasm, when I was interrupted—

"HARRY POTTER!"

Uh-oh.

That couldn't be good.

I turned to see Professor McGonagall rushing toward us. She told Harry to follow her inside as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle wore smug smiles.

Klaus met me at our usual spot on the grounds.

I began talking about my flying lesson and how Harry Potter got in trouble because of Draco Malfoy.

"I can't stand him," I said, balling my hands into fists. "I just wanted to punch him."

Klaus was silent, looking out at the lake. He seemed sad.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "You look upset about something."

Klaus turned to me. "Have you been seeing a lot of this Draco Malfoy?" Klaus asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "No, of course not," I said, "Did you not just hear my story? He hates my guts all because I'm a Muggleborn and a Gryffindor. What gave you that impression?"

"Did you meet him last week after class?" Klaus said. "On Monday?"

"Yes," I said. "So what?"

"Well, I just…you never said anything," Klaus said.

"Yes because it wasn't that important," I said, beginning to become angry. "How did you find out about this?"

"Fiona told me," Klaus said. "She learned it from Padma Patil who heard it from Parvati. I just wanted to know if it was true."

I frowned. "It's really none of their business what I was doing," I said. "Especially, Fiona. Klaus, you know I would never hurt you like that. All that happened was that Draco Malfoy called me a filthy Mudblood and told me never to speak to him again."

"Why didn't you tell me about it, though?" Klaus asked.

"I don't know," I said, "I don't tell you when I talk to Seamus, Neville, or Charlie. Why am I expected to tell you everything that goes on in my life? You should be able to trust me. Do you know how hard it is for me to be able to trust you with Fiona? Especially after this. But I do trust you because I know you would never betray me like that. We promised each other that we wouldn't and I don't break promises. Particularly the ones I make to you."

Klaus sighed. "You're right," he said, looking genuinely sorry. "I'm sorry Jamie. I shouldn't have made assumptions."

"I'm sorry for not telling you," I said, "I should have known Fiona would try to use this against us. Promise me you won't let what Fiona tells you morph your opinion of me again."

"I promise," Klaus said and leaned over to kiss me. "I knew there had to be an explanation. I'll try to trust you more."

* * *

That evening at dinner, to my surprise, Harry had returned and seemed far from upset the way he was before. I overheard Harry telling Ron that he was asked to be on the Gryffindor Quidditch team as their new Seeker.

Then, Malfoy made his way over to our table again, looking flustered at seeing Harry. Malfoy and Harry planned to meet each other that evening in the trophy room for a midnight duel. A duel? I didn't know wizards had duels. Harry clearly didn't either, because Ron had to explain some things.

Hermione, of course, was listening in as well.

"We should say something," she said. "They could get expelled if Filch catches them."

"Just let them be," I said, "if they get expelled then that's their problem."

"But they'll lose house points," Hermione said, "You don't want Slytherin to win, do you?"

"That's a good point," I said.

Hermione took that as her chance to intrude on Harry and Ron's conversation.

"Excuse me," she said.

"Can't a person eat in peace in this place?" Ron said.

Hermione didn't pay him any attention, speaking solely to Harry. "Jamie and I couldn't help overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying—"

"Bet you could," Ron muttered.

"—and you mustn't go wandering around the school at night, think of the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really very selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," Harry said.

"I want to see Malfoy go down as much as you do," I said. "Trust me. But maybe there's another way without letting the House Cup go to Slytherin."

"Nope," Ron said, "There's no other way. Now, goodbye."

"We have to stop them," Hermione said, that evening as I climbed into bed. She was wide awake, looking at the door. "They'll get into trouble."

"Why don't we just settle down?" I said, "They don't seem to care very much. I don't think we're going to make much of a difference."

"Oh, come on," Hermione said, "They're going to ruin everything I did."

Hermione headed for the door, dressed in her pink bathrobe. I was going to protest, but then, I wasn't looking forward to more nightmares, so I would much rather have an excuse to remain awake longer. I followed her into the common room and we sat down on the sofa, waiting for them to come out. We waited for several minutes and I almost decided against it, when Harry and Ron emerged from the boys' dormitory. Believing the common room was empty, they scrambled towards the portrait hole.

"I can't believe you're going to do this, Harry," Hermione said.

"You!" said Ron furiously. "Go back to bed! Both of you!"

"In my defense," I said, "Hermione put me up to this."

"I almost told your brother," Hermione snapped, ignoring me, "Percy—he's a prefect, he'd put a stop to this."

Harry didn't look too happy either. "Come on," he said to Ron. Harry and Ron moved towards the portrait hole, climbing through.

"Come on," Hermione urged me, "We can't let them do this."

"Does it really matter?" I said. "Clearly they don't want to back down."

"Yes it matters," Hermione said. "Let's go."

She stormed out of the portrait hole after Ron. I followed behind as Hermione hissed at them.

"Don't you care about Gryffindor, do you only care about yourselves, I don't want Slytherin to win the house cup, and you'll lose all the points I got from Professor McGonagall for knowing about Switching Spells."

"Go away." Ron said.

"All right, but I warned you, you just remember what I said when you're on the train home tomorrow, you're so—"

Hermione broke off midsentence. She had turned back toward the portrait of the Fat Lady to return to the common room, and found that the painting was completely empty. Looks like we were locked out of Gryffindor Tower for who knows how long.

"Now what am I going to do?" she asked shrilly.

"I can't believe I went with you," I said, "Now I'm stuck out here."

"That's your problem," Ron said. "We've got to go, we're going to be late."

Harry and Ron hurried down the corridor.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione said, in exasperation.

"I don't know," I said, "Maybe you should figure it out. Since you seem to know everything."

Hermione frowned. "I was only trying to stop them from getting into trouble," Hermione said. "They'll ruin Gryffindor's chances of winning the House Cup."

"If they say they're going to duel Malfoy, then I have to be there to watch," I said and hurried to catch up with Harry and Ron. Hermione was right with me.

"We're coming with you," I said.

"You are not." Ron said.

"D'you think we're going to stand out here and wait for Filch to catch us? If he finds all four of us we'll tell him the truth, that we were trying to stop you, and you can back us up."

"You've got some nerve—" said Ron loudly.

"Shut up, both of you!" Harry said sharply. "I heard something." There was a low sort of snuffling.

"Mrs. Norris?" breathed Ron, squinting through the dark.

But it was only Neville. He was curled up in a ball on the floor and he jerked awake as we came towards him.

"Thank goodness you found me! I've been out here for hours, I couldn't remember the new password to get in to bed."

"Keep your voice down, Neville," Ron said, "The password's 'Pig snout' but it won't help you now, the Fat Lady's gone off somewhere."

"How's your arm?" Harry said.

"Fine," Neville said, showing us. "Madam Pomfrey mended it in about a minute."

"Good–well, look, Neville, we've got to be somewhere, we'll see you later—"

"Don't leave me!" said Neville, scrambling to his feet, "I don't want to stay here alone, the Bloody Baron's been past twice already."

Ron looked at his watch and then glared furiously at Hermione, Neville, and me.

"If either of you get us caught, I'll never rest until I've learned that Curse of the Bogies Quirrell told us about, and used it on you."

Hermione opened her mouth to correct Ron and I elbowed her as Harry hissed at her to be quiet. He beckoned us all forward. We crept along the corridors toward the trophy room. We arrived at a room full of glistening trophy cases. There were cups, shields, plates, and statues. Malfoy and Crabbe weren't there yet and Harry pulled out his wand just in case. Though after several minutes, it didn't seem like they would show.

"He's late, maybe he's chickened out," Ron whispered.

"Figures," I said, "he probably knew he would lose. Or he just set you two up to look like idiots."

There was a noise from the room next to us, making us jump.

"Sniff around, my sweet, they might be lurking in a corner."

I realized as everyone else did that it was Filch and Mrs. Norris. Harry frantically beckoned for us to follow him. We hurried quietly toward the door, away from Filch.

"They're in here somewhere," Filch muttered as he entered the trophy room, "probably hiding."

"This way!" Harry mouthed to us. We followed Harry quietly, but then Neville let out a frightened squeak, running and then tripping over Ron, causing them both to fall into a suit of armor.

"RUN!" Harry yelled. We all ran along the corridor until we reached an area near the Charms classroom.

"I think we've lost him," Harry panted.

"I–told–you," Hermione gasped, clutching at the stitch in her chest, "I–told–you."

"We've got to get back to Gryffindor tower," said Ron, "quickly as possible."

"Jamie was right before," Hermione said, and I was glad to hear Hermione say I was right for once. "Malfoy tricked you. You realize that, don't you? He was never going to meet you—Filch knew someone was going to be in the trophy room, Malfoy must have tipped him off."

Harry didn't respond, clearly not wanting to admit that Hermione had been right.

"Let's go."

We were about to begin moving again when Peeves emerged from a nearby classroom, giving a squeal of delight at seeing us.

"Shut up, Peeves—please—you'll get us thrown out."

Peeves cackled.

"Wandering around at midnight, Ickle Firsties? Tut, tut, tut. Naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't give us away, Peeves, please."

"Should tell Filch, I should," said Peeves in a saintly voice, but his eyes glittered wickedly. "It's for your own good, you know."

"Get out of the way," Ron snapped, but this seemed to be a big mistake.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED!" Peeves bellowed, "STUDENTS OUT OF BED DOWN THE CHARMS CORRIDOR!"

We hurried by Peeves, running for our lives to the end of the corridor where we slammed into a locked door.

"This is it!" Ron moaned, as we tried, without any luck, to push open the door, "We're done for! This is the end!"

We could hear Filch running towards Peeves' shouts.

"This is all your fault," I said.

"Oh, move over," Hermione snarled at Ron. She grabbed Harry's wand, tapped the lock, and whispered, 'Alohomora!"

The lock clicked and the door swung open and we hurried inside.

"Which way did they go, Peeves?" we heard Filch saying. "Quick, tell me."

"Say 'please."'

"Don't mess with me, Peeves, now where did they go?"

"Shan't say nothing if you don't say please," said Peeves in his annoying singsong voice.

"All right—please."

"NOTHING! Ha haaa! Told you I wouldn't say nothing if you didn't say please! Ha ha! Haaaaaa!" And we heard Peeves whoosh away as Filch cursed.

"He thinks this door is locked," Harry whispered. "I think we'll be okay–get off, Neville! What?"

We all turned around and my breath caught in utter terror. I realized we were in the forbidden corridor on the third floor. Before us, was a monstrous dog with three heads and yellow fangs. It uttered a thunderous growl.

Harry found the doorknob and we all fell backwards out of the room. Harry slammed the door closed, and we shot off back down the corridor. We didn't stop running until we reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. She was back and Harry shouted the password right away, before we scrambled inside the common room. We plopped down on the armchairs, breathing heavily. My entire body was trembling.

"What do they think they're doing, keeping a thing like that locked up in a school?" Ron said finally. "If any dog needs exercise, that one does."

"I don't want that dog moving about outside," I said, with a shudder. "But I don't think it should be at Hogwarts either. Wouldn't they think to use a more powerful lock?"

"You don't use your eyes, any of you, do you?" Hermione snapped. "Didn't you see what it was standing on?"

"The floor?" Harry suggested. "I wasn't looking at its feet, I was too busy with its heads."

I nodded in agreement.

"No, not the floor. It was standing on a trapdoor. It's obviously guarding something."

She stood up and glared at each of us.

"I hope you're pleased with yourselves. We could all have been killed—or worse, expelled."

"Death is a lot worse than expulsion," I said.

Hermione scowled at me.

"You seriously need to sort out your priorities," Ron said.

Hermione glared at him as well. "You should be glad I was there to save you," she said, "I knew you would be expelled if I didn't."

"Goodness, Hermione do you always have to be such a know-it-all?" I blurted. "Sometimes it's okay to not follow the rules. It's actually more fun that way. Despite the giant three-headed dog trying to eat us…"

Hermione looked stunned and definitely hurt. Then, she frowned at me.

"I was only trying to keep you from getting expelled," she growled. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to bed."

She stormed away.

I looked down at my feet, feeling a little guilty about my outburst.

Harry, Ron, and Neville were staring at me with stunned expressions. Ron, particularly, looked overjoyed.

"That was bloody brilliant," Ron said. "I didn't know you had it in you."

I sighed. "I'm going to bed," I said, sadly. "I really do hope you duel Malfoy at some point and win. For all of our sakes. Goodnight."

I climbed up to the girls' dorm and saw that Hermione was already fast asleep. I crawled into bed, as guilt flooded through me as if it had never left.

* * *

I had another nightmare. I was walking through the halls of Hogwarts when I bumped into Filch, who turned to give me an evil glare. As he turned, his face and hair went away, transforming into none other than Count Olaf.

"Aren't you happy to see me orphan?" he said in his scratchy voice. "You'd better get used to it. We'll be spending a lot of time together while you're in my clutches."

I took a few steps back, shaking my head furiously. "You're not real," I said, "You're just my imagination. You can't hurt me."

He stepped closer, towering over me and pulled out a syringe like the one he used to kidnap me before the trial.

"I'm as real as this syringe I'm holding," he said, "As real as your nightmares will be when you're in my clutches again. You'll pay for what you did to me. Sending me to prison, while you walk free when you've committed acts just as bad as mine. Murder."

There was a flash and I was standing at the lion pit, watching the bald man dangling above the ferocious lions. I watched from afar as I dropped him into the pit.

"No, no, no," I said, "I tried to save him. That wasn't murder. There was nothing I could have done to help him. It wasn't my fault."

There was another flash and I was in a familiar jail at the Village of Fowl Devotees. I turned to the cell next to mine, expecting to see Jacques Snicket, but instead, it was Hermione. Her eyes were wide and glassy. Her skin pale.

"It's not my fault!" I screamed. And then, I was back. Count Olaf reached towards me, about to grab me, when I ran the opposite direction.

"You can run," he called as he chased me down the corridor, "but you can't hide. I can see where you're going."

I turned to run in the opposite direction. I was running but I realized I was in the third floor corridor and when I opened the door, I faced the three-headed dog, which snarled and roared at me, barring its teeth.

"Alohamora," I heard from the other side and Hermione was there. I hurried out and found that Count Olaf was gone. "I told you so!" Hermione said.

"I'm sorry," I said, "I'm so sorry!"

But Hermione just turned and walked away.

Then, Draco Malfoy rounded the corner with Pansy Parkinson. I rounded on him, but before I could yell at him for being such a jerk, I was interrupted.

"Get away from me you filthy Mudblood," he said with a smirk as Pansy snickered.

"You're nothing but a weak, ugly orphan," Pansy sneered.

"And you're a coward," I spat, "And you're-"

"Jamie?"

I turned around and saw Klaus heading towards me. Fiona was with him and grinned.

"What are you doing with him?" Klaus cried. "I thought you said I could trust you."

"You can, Klaus," I said, desperately. "I didn't do anything."

"I can't believe you," Klaus said, "I can't be with you anymore, Jamie."

Klaus and Fiona turned around and headed down a corridor. I hurried after them. I couldn't let Klaus out of my sight or I would lose him forever.

"Wait!" I said, rounding the corner. But what I saw was like someone had driven a knife through my heart. Fiona was kissing Klaus.

There was another flash and I was back on _The Carmelita_, watching the same thing happen, feeling my heart break over again.

I turned away, only to see Count Olaf again, towering over me and smiling triumphantly as if he had won.

"Poor little orphan," he said, "Abandoned once more. Didn't I warn you? No matter _who_ you _think_ is your family, they're always going to end up abandoning you. Are you ready to seek my help again?"

"NO!" I yelled as loud as I could, shattering my dream and jolting me awake.

It seemed that I wasn't the only one who had jerked awake. I apologized quickly for screaming and fell back asleep.

* * *

**Review!**


	6. Halloween

**New chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter Six:**** Halloween**

Weeks passed by and the leaves changed colors, already making huge piles out on the grounds. The students loved to play in the big piles, much to Filch's annoyance. I tried to forget the horrible sight of that three-headed dog. It still made me shudder to think about those giant, sharp teeth and claws. Though Harry and Ron seemed to act like it had been a big adventure. I tried to see it in that way and that made it less terrifying.

Hermione refused to speak to me and whenever I tried to apologize, she ignored me or left the room. She was my only real friend and my nightmare still haunted me. I couldn't rest until she had forgiven me. I couldn't stand the guilt. I spent most of my time with Klaus. Things between us were back to how they were before. Klaus spent less time with Fiona, still upset with her. I was glad. I didn't like when we were angry with each other. I told Klaus all about sneaking out of the dorm and the adventure I had. Klaus couldn't believe that there was really a three-headed dog hidden in the school to guard a trap door.

"I wonder what is underneath it?" Klaus said in the Great Hall the morning after. "Though I suppose with what happened before school this year, they would go to these measures to conceal something."

"What happened?" I asked.

"Someone broke into Gringrotts on July 31," Klaus said, "They're not sure who it was but it was very unsettling. Gringrotts is one of the safest places in the entire world maybe to hide something. Anyone who was ever foolish enough to break in never lived to tell the tale."

"Maybe we should put our parents' fortunes in Gringrotts bank," I said, "Count Olaf would never be able to get it."

Klaus grimaced at the mention of him. "We don't need to worry about that, anyways," he said.

I nodded, though that didn't calm my worries.

"You're still afraid he's going to come back," Klaus said, as more of a statement.

I looked up at his brown eyes, the ones that always made me feel safe. Klaus took my hand.

"You don't need to be afraid," Klaus said. "He won't come after us. He's locked away in jail."

I sighed. "I know," I said, "but I can't stop worrying. Don't worry about it though. I'll be fine. I am fine. It looks like breakfast is over. I'd better go."

I gave him a quick kiss and headed to class, walking with Valoryie Burns and Fay Dunbair. Hermione stormed past me with her nose in the air. I breathed another sigh and hoped the rest of the day would be a little brighter. Parvati Patil caught up to us and told me that Dumbledore wanted to see me after classes today. She gave me a note Dumbledore had asked her to deliver, though; it didn't say why he wanted to see me. What could he want with me? Was I in trouble?

* * *

After classes, with a heavy heart, I went to Dumbledore's office. He waited for me outside. I almost wanted to tell him to get it over with and tell me what I did, but I bit my tongue. I followed the headmaster up to his office.

"Have a seat, dear," he said.

I sat down in a large chair on the other side of his desk. I gazed all around at his office, admiring the portraits of former Headmasters and Headmistresses hanging on the walls. Dumbledore sat down, giving me a kind, warm smile.

"What did you want to see me for?" I asked, unable to stand the anticipation anymore.

"I wanted to check up with you," Dumbledore said, "To see how you are adjusting to being here. I realize that after what happened to you, sudden changes can be unsettling."

"But why just me?" I asked. "Melissa, Klaus, and Fiona went through the same misery."

"I've been told that you seem to be having trouble focusing in your lessons," Dumbledore said, "more so than your friends. Anyways, I did tell you when we first met that I would speak with you again."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "I'm sorry, sir," I said, "I know I haven't been the best student lately. I really have been trying…I like being here. I think I just need time."

Dumbledore nodded. "I understand," he said, "which is exactly why I asked you to come. I know what you went through was something no child should ever have to experience. I want to help you. At first, I thought that coming to the school would be enough. I see now, that I cannot go without addressing this. It would be wrong for me to dismiss it."

"I'm afraid, Professor," I said, my hands gripped the arms of the chair tightly in agitation as my fear washed over me again. "I know that he's in jail far away in America. But I…I just fear that he'll escape and come after us again. I mean, we were with plenty of guardians and each time, Count Olaf would find us. Maybe I shouldn't be a Gryffindor. I'm not very brave."

"Nonsense," Dumbledore said softly and put a hand on my shoulder. "The Sorting Hat is quite reliable. You were placed in Gryffindor because you belong there. Even the bravest of people have fears, especially in your situation."

I shrugged, not completely agreeing. I trusted Dumbledore's opinion, though I just didn't trust that I could live up to that image of bravery.

"Nevertheless," Dumbledore continued. "You have nothing to fear while you're at Hogwarts. This school is under enchantments that will protect the lives of the students. For instance, one spell prevents any Muggle from coming here. They'll simply forget why they were headed this way. So I can promise you that Count Olaf will not be able to come to Hogwarts."

"Even if he comes in disguise?" I asked.

"Even if," Dumbledore said. "You're safe here as long as you try not to get into too much trouble and keep out of the Forbidden Forest as well as the forbidden corridor. I'm sure that won't be a problem though."

My eyes widened a bit when he mentioned the forbidden corridor and I shuddered. "Right," I said, stiffly, hoping he didn't detect anything. "I guess that makes me feel a little better. I know that_ we're_ safe, but Sunny, Beatrice, and Renée are in the Muggle World. They're much more vulnerable."

"I suppose," he said, "however, I trust that Renée will be able to protect them with magic if necessary. I was the one who advised her to bring you to her family's mansion. I knew you and your friends would be safe there."

Dumbledore paused for a moment. "Now, Miss Murray," he said, "there's another matter I would like to discuss. Have you ever heard of PTSD?"

I frowned and shook my head.

"It's called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," Dumbledore explained, "a mental illness that means you are in a great amount of internal pain. I believe that you may have it."

"Oh," I said. "So I'm crazy?"

Dumbledore shook his head fiercely. "Not at all," Dumbledore said, "there are millions of people all over the world who are in your situation. Some people are not as fortunate in their recovery and use means that will only make things worse. I knew that when you came here that there was a possibility that you or your friends may have this condition. I asked Madame Pomfrey as well as Professor McGonagall to keep a close eye on you to make sure you weren't harming yourself. But it's clear that you need guidance and I'm willing to help you."

"Can I get better?" I asked.

"Yes," Dumbledore said, "you can recover and I will do everything in my power to make sure you do."

"But what if I fail?" I said, my fears creeping into my heart again. "How can I move on when there are so many good people buried in the ground that can't because of me?"

Dumbledore looked sad for a moment and reached out to place a hand on my shoulder. I felt for a moment, as if this kind man understood me in a way that no one else could.

"Many people like yourself have gone through tremendous hardships," Dumbledore said, "that they feel they cannot move past. Sometimes there are wounds that are too enormous to completely heal. They become scars, everlasting on our souls. You can get better. You can move past this the way so many others have. All you need is to have faith and courage."

"I've been trying to forget and move on," I said, "But I just can't. and I'm afraid to forget…to forget the people who deserve to be remembered. I'm not very courageous, sir. Sometimes I feel like I don't belong here…like there's a part of me that's missing. Though I feel like I don't belong in most places."

"You're not alone in that, my dear," Dumbledore said, "There are others just like you who feel out of place. And it's not about forgetting. After all, we mustn't try to run away from our past, even if we're not always looking back. For it can never truly leave us. Moving on is a part of accepting our circumstances and making peace with what happened." I was about to speak but Dumbledore raised a hand to silence me. "This is one of the times in your life when you need to make a choice," he continued, "You can either hide away from the world and be a victim or you can get back up and fight like I know you can."

Dumbledore reached out his hand to take mine. "I promise you, Miss Murray," he said, "that I will not let you fail. You will recover. I'll be there to help you when you need it."

I gazed at his twinkling eyes behind his half-moon spectacles and I knew that he truly meant it. It was reassuring to know that he had so much faith in me.

"I want you to come see me starting after Halloween," Dumbledore said, "Also I would like you to go see Madam Pomfrey after this. She will give you a potion to help you sleep and one that will help you throughout the day. In the meantime, I think it will be best if you continued to chronicle your life experiences in a journal. Sometimes reflecting on trauma in such a way can help with overcoming it. You can also find ways to stay active by participating in extracurricular activities to help keep yourself busy and distracted. In fact, I was told that you haven't been attending Choir since the first day. Is there a reason for this?"

It was true. Although I auditioned and was accepted, I couldn't bring myself to go. The audition was only a few vocal exercises rather than singing a full song. Other than that, I haven't actually practiced singing since before the Baudelaires and I left the island. I was just so preoccupied with worrying about Count Olaf's return and the other aspects of my life that I just didn't have the desire I once had.

I shrugged. "The last time I truly sang anything," I said, "was before that shipwreck. I suppose I just don't have the same motivation I once did."

"I think it could be very beneficial to you if you went every week," Dumbledore said. "Singing can be very therapeutic and will help you recover, especially since it is something that you are passionate about. Perhaps you'll regain your motivation for it as well."

"Ok," I agreed.

"I will notify you when our next meeting will be," Dumbledore said, "We may begin with once a week."

"Well, thank you, Professor," I said, "I'll try to improve. Perhaps I just need time."

"You're very welcome," Dumbledore replied. He rose from his chair and beckoned me to walk with him to the exit of his office.

He paused just at the exit. "I can give you all of the support you need," Dumbledore said, "but whether you recover is up to you."

I nodded. "I'll try," I said, before I left, heading to Madam Pomfrey's and feeling a sinking feeling as I tried to process this new information. I should have known there was something wrong with me. I was almost afraid to go to the hospital wing, afraid of how she would look at me. Like I was weak and damaged. That was all anyone ever saw in me.

* * *

Halloween arrived soon after, bringing me some excitement. I couldn't wait to see how Hogwarts celebrated the day. I had never really had the chance to in the past and I certainly wasn't going to miss out now.

It was even more exciting when Professor Flitwick announced was going to teach us how to we would be learning how to make objects fly. He put us into pairs. I was paired with Valoryie Burns for practicing. I saw that Hermione was partners with Ron Weasley and knew that it could only spell disaster. Ron seemed to especially detest Hermione, probably more than anyone else besides the Slytherin's but they detested pretty much everyone. The pair wore matching scowls as they sat down beside each other. I don't think I've ever seen Hermione look so angry, even with me. Ron's ears were turning red.

"Now, don't forget that nice wrist movement we've been practicing!" squeaked Professor Flitwick from on top of his pile of books. "Swish and flick, remember, swish and flick. And saying the magic words properly is very important, too - never forget Wizard Baruffio, who said 's' instead of 'f' and found himself on the floor with a buffalo on his chest."

It was definitely not an easy spell to master. I tried to swish and flick as precisely as possible but the feather just wouldn't budge. I was relieved to find I wasn't alone. Seamus, who was working with Harry, got so impatient that he accidentally lit their feather on fire. Ron wasn't having any luck either. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms.

"You're saying it wrong," Hermione snapped, assuming her bossiest tone. "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

"You do it, then, if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione rolled up the sleeves of her gown, flicked her wand, and said, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

As usual, Hermione's feather effortlessly hovered above our heads before anyone else could have even a chance. I almost wanted to scowl at her like Ron. She made it look too easy.

"Oh, well done!" cried Professor Flitwick, clapping. "Everyone see here, Miss Granger's done it!"

Ron was fuming.

By the end of class, only a few other people had managed to get their feathers afloat. Mine was still just sitting there. I sighed knowing I needed Klaus' help again. I was growing a bit tired of feeling this way. I wanted the satisfaction of knowing I had accomplished something on my own. I knew that I shouldn't be so hard on myself in my state, but ever since I found out about my disorder…it made me so angry. I hated feeling like everywhere I went; Count Olaf was controlling my life. I wanted that control back. But I had no idea where to begin.

I made my way out of the classroom walking past Harry and Ron. Ron was still looking angry, muttering, "It's no wonder no one can stand her," to Harry as they made their way down another crowded corridor, "she's a nightmare, honestly."

I was gazing at them out of the corner of my eye as Hermione rammed into Harry's shoulder, as she pushed past them. I saw tears in her eyes and the dream I had the night we had that fight came back to me, filling me with a new wave of guilt. I knew it didn't matter how much of a know-it-all she was. She didn't deserve to be treated that way.

"I think she heard you," I heard Harry say.

"So?" said Ron. "She must've noticed she's got no friends and the only friend she had was tired of her."

"Hey," I said moving over to them. "That was a really horrible thing to say. You should be ashamed of yourselves. And you're wrong about Hermione having no friends. I'm her friend, despite, our little fight. I used to want to be friends with you too, until I found out you're just a bunch of jerks. Now why don't you back off."

Ron and Harry were gaping at me again. Ron looked like he was about to say something but I turned and headed off to our next class. I was hoping to say something to cheer up Hermione, but she didn't even show. I didn't see her all afternoon either. When it was time for the Halloween feast and I still hadn't seen her, I knew I couldn't enjoy myself without making sure Hermione was all right. Parvati Patil told me she saw Hermione crying in the girls' bathroom. I hurried over, finding the bathroom to be empty. I could hear some soft sniffles from inside one of the locked bathroom stalls.

"Hermione?" I said, shyly.

Her sniffles silenced abruptly. For few moments, it was quiet and I waited for her to speak.

"I don't want to be bothered right now," Hermione replied. "Who's there?"

"It's…um…Jamie," I said, "Jamie Murray."

"Oh," she said softly. "Go away. I just want to be alone."

"Look," I said, "I-I know I'm not really the best at expressing myself. But I'm really sorry about what I said to you before. I haven't been myself lately. I know that's no excuse. You were my friend and I should never have lashed out at you like that. I said some things that I didn't mean and I've been feeling guilty ever since, but I know my guilt is probably nothing compared to how I made you feel." I paused, hoping to hear Hermione's forgiveness, but she was silent, "When I heard what Ron said about you," I went on "well…I felt really bad. You don't deserve to be treated that way. But if it makes you feel any better, I yelled at him for you."

Hermione opened the stall door and peeked out at me, uncertainly. "Really?" she asked, wiping her wet eyes with the backs of her hands.

"Yeah," I said, "of course I did. It reminded me of how Carmelita Spats used to taunt me and I could never allow any one to endure that. You especially."

I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed tight. Hermione released a few more tears.

We broke apart. "But that doesn't change much," Hermione said, as she sunk down to the bathroom floor, leaning back against the wall. Her eyes welled with tears again. "I'm still a freak and I still don't have any friends. Ron is right about that, at least." She sighed. "I don't get it. Why doesn't anyone like me?"

I crouched down beside her.

"Sometimes people are too quick to judge," I said, "they learn one thing about you that makes you different and they do that to hurt you. Trust me, I know all about being the odd ball. I don't even feel like I belong in Gryffindor let alone Hogwarts."

"But you're so brave," Hermione said, "anyone who's read those books can see that. Don't tell Klaus I said this, but you were always my favorite. You didn't need to read a ton of books or be able to invent to survive and be a good person. You showed me that there are other ways you can be great."

"Do you want to know something?" I said, "It's something I haven't told anyone. Not even Klaus."

"What is it?" Hermione said, knowing it was serious if I had kept it from Klaus.

"I'm not all that perfect either," I said, "no matter what you thought of me when you read those books. The truth is, the girl you think is so courageous and amazing is crazy. Madam Pomfrey diagnosed me with PTSD. I haven't told Klaus because he thinks I'm such a great person like you do. But if he knew, he would never see me that way."

"That's ridiculous," Hermione said, "I'm sure Klaus wouldn't think like that."

"It would be fine if I had that quality that made Klaus think I was great," I said, "but I don't…at least not anymore."

Hermione looked like she was about to tell me how amazing she thought I was, but I interrupted her.

"You know, when Count Olaf locked me in that wooden crate before the trial, I had a long time to think," I said, "See, I was ready to give up. I had made my decision and…I was okay with it. Maybe I was doomed to spend the rest of my life with that horrible man, but I knew I could handle it because I knew what to expect.

"And then, my friends came to free me," I continued, "and it was like that part of me that made me…brave or whatever it was that gave me the will to survive…had sifted through the cracks of that crate and left me forever. Now I don't know if I'll ever get that part of me back. I walk through the corridors of Hogwarts everyday with a gaping hole in my heart where that part of me…that made me who I am…is supposed to be. And I know if Klaus ever found out, that all he would ever see me as is a helpless girl who can't even move on like a normal person. Sometimes I feel like I want to crawl back inside that wooden crate. At least then, I could live on with that gaping hole and I would never have to face any more pain or suffering. I could turn it off."

I found my own eyes filling with tears and I quickly wiped them away.

"But I know that it's not going to change anything," I said, "So don't retreat to that box like I did because you're afraid of getting hurt. You're so much better than that. You can hide away from the world in this bathroom or you can get back up and fight." As I repeated Dumbledore's words to me, I knew in my aching heart that maybe I needed to listen to them too. "And maybe that's what I need to do too."

I paused and saw Hermione was beginning to cheer up. "Besides, Ron was wrong about a lot of things," I said, "He's wrong about most things. For one, you do have friends. You have me."

Hermione smiled. "You're right," she said, "Thank you, Jamie. I'm sorry if I was a bit bossy. I'll try to take it down a notch."

"Even if you don't," I said, "I'll still be your friend."

We hugged. It felt nice to make up with her and I vowed to never freak out on her again like that.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and we jumped apart as a huge troll towered over us, holding a huge wooden club. We gasped and shrunk back against the wall as the beast smashed the sinks with its club. The sudden surge of fear brought all my fears back to me. I saw the man with a beard but no hair as he closed in on me and then, I was watching in horror as the caravan carried Violet and Klaus to their doom as Count Olaf uttered wheezy chuckles. I felt the Medusoid Mycelium suffocating me as I ran for my life to reach the apple tree. And then I recalled my dream again with Hermione and it was as if I broke the surface to reality again.

The troll was thundering towards Hermione, who was very pale as she cowered in fear. I grabbed a stone from the ground and hurled it at its face. The stone had more force than I had intended and hit the troll. It had little effect and the troll still focused its attention on Hermione.

The bathroom doors opened and in came Harry and Ron. They tried to confuse the troll with their yelling, getting it away from Hermione. I rushed over to her to make sure she was okay and helped pull her away before the troll came at her again. Parlysed with fear, I watched as Harry and Ron taunted the troll until it was going beserk and thundering towards Ron who had no way to escape. Then, Harry jumped on the troll's back, fastening his arms around its neck.

"What in the world are you doing?" I cried. "You'll get yourself killed!"

Harry's wand flung up and stuck right through the trolls nose. I grimaced as the troll shrieked and moved around as if it were going to rip Harry off any second or hit him the club.

Ron pulled out his wand and shouted, "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The club flew out of the troll's grasp and rose above its head, before it fell with a deafening crunch on the troll's head. The troll swayed and then fell forward, with a tremendous thud that shook the whole room.

"Is it - dead?" Hermione said, as Harry got to his feet. Ron still hadn't moved, staring at what he had done.

"I don't think so," said Harry, "I think it's just been knocked out."

Harry removed his wand from the troll's nose. I looked away in disgust, feeling nauseous.

"Urgh - troll boogers."

I was still shaking from head to toe. I kept seeing all of those images reflected in everything I saw.

There was a sudden slam and loud footsteps that scattered the images. I looked up as Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape, and Professor Quirrell burst into the room. Quirrell let out a whimper when he saw the troll, clutching his heart.

Snape leaned over to examine the troll. Professor McGonagall, looking especially furious, stared at Ron and Harry.

"What on earth were you thinking of?" Professor McGonagall said in fury. "You're lucky you weren't killed. Why aren't you in your dormitory?"

"Please, Professor McGonagall - they were looking for me."

"Miss Granger!"

"She wasn't alone," I said, "I was with her."

"Miss Murray!"

"I went looking for the troll because I—I thought I could deal with it on my own—you know, because I've read all about them. Jamie came with me. She was trying to stop me but didn't want me to have to face it alone."

"If they hadn't found me, I'd be dead now. Harry stuck his wand up its nose and Ron knocked it out with its own club. They didn't have time to come and fetch anyone. It was about to finish me off when they arrived."

Harry and Ron tried to look as though this story wasn't new to them.

"Well - in that case..." said Professor McGonagall, staring at all four of us, "Miss Granger, you foolish girl, how could you think of tackling a mountain troll on your own? Miss Granger, five points will be taken from Gryffindor for this. I'm very disappointed in you. If you're not hurt at all, you'd better get off to Gryffindor tower. Students are finishing the feast in their houses. Why don't you accompany her, Miss Murray? You should not have gone with her, especially in your condition."

I nodded, suppressing a shudder so she wouldn't press on the matter. Harry and Ron glanced at me quickly in confusion before Hermione and I left.

We started up the stairs to the common room without a word. We waited by the portrait hole for Harry and Ron to return. We exchanged brief glances "Thanks," we all said, secretly communicating our new understanding. This incident had forever changed us and now there was no question about our friendship. We had a bond that could never be severed.

I went to bed feeling a new sense of direction. My mind lingered on my conversation with Hermione. I couldn't just sit around feeling sorry for myself. I had to find a way to get up and fight. I couldn't just sit here, worrying that Olaf would return. I thought of all the times Count Olaf and all those other horrible people had exposed me as weak and vulnerable. Today, when the troll came I had been too paralysed by fear to defend Hermione and I, appearing weak once more. If it hadn't been for Harry and Ron's bravery, Hermione and I would have perished. I didn't want to be afraid anymore. I couldn't let myself be weak. Not again. If Olaf ever came back, I couldn't let him see that weak, defenseless girl. If Olaf ever came back, I had to be ready so I would never be too weak again. I had to fight back.

* * *

**Review!**


	7. Quidditch and Tea Leaves

**Here's a new chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Quidditch and Tea Leaves**

**Melissa Sampson**

Today I had Divination first and I met up with Fred and George in the Great Hall before we headed over, using our typical shortcuts. I had detention again. This time it was all three of us. But Fred and I had such a fun time in our two-week detention from Snape that I was almost glad. They were really growing on me and we pretty much did everything together. They were my closest friends here. I still didn't get along with the girls in my dorm, and ever since I started hanging around Fred and George, they were even more catty. Angelina Johnson had a crush on Fred and Alicia was checking out George. So seeing me with them every waking minute made them insanely jealous. Honestly, I wasn't really into any of them the way everyone thought. We were just good friends.

I did, however, make friends with Lee Jordan who hung around Fred and George almost as much as I did. He joined us on our way to Divination. Professor Trelawney was the teacher and she was very strange. She kept going on about the Inner Eye and all this palm reading stuff. Of course, I had abilities to see the future, but even I knew better than to trust a silly line on someone's hand. I usually kept my abilities quiet. I didn't want to give anyone another reason to distance theirselves from me. Besides, it's been a while since I've had a true vision. Sometimes I'll get little bursts of things like I saw that Gryffindor was going to win the Quidditch match against Slytherin. But I couldn't see the details. That was another reason why I didn't share my abilities. It would ruin everyone's fun if I told them everything that was going to happen.

We settled into our seats. I was working with Fred today and Professor Trelawney announced we were moving on to study tea leaves. Fred and I smirked at each other, snickering as Professor Trelawney lectured us on the Inner Eye again. Fred opened the book and we tried to figure out what our tea leaves looked like.

"Looks like you've got a wheel?" Fred said, as he gazed at my cup.

At that moment, Trelawney swooped over to our table, taking my teacup from Fred's hands.

"You're going to have a new realization that will change everything," she said, "Something about your family."

I wasn't so sure about that. The last vision that said I would find my biological father lied. I suppose some things I predicted weren't always accurate.

"Now what could be life changing?" Fred whispered.

"Setting a dungbomb off in Snape's office," I said with a grin, "I think that would be life changing."

Trelawney reached for Fred's teacup. She gazed at it for a second and then she gasped, her eyes going wide. "You-you have the Grim!" she said in a hushed whisper. "Meaning death." Everyone fell silent, staring at Fred.

The class ended then, with everyone still in shock. I followed him out into the corridor. "Don't worry about that," I said, "She's crazy. You're not going to die."

Fred grinned. "I'm not worried at all," he said, "She does this every year."

"Last year it was a Hufflepuff," George said. "Cedric Diggory."

* * *

_**Jamie Murray **_

As November came, the weather outside became colder. Frost covered every inch of the ground and it was nice when we got to visit Hagrid, the gamekeeper, who always kept the fireplace going. I usually went to see him with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Ever since the troll, we did everything together. I enjoyed their company. Harry and Ron were being a bit nicer to Hermione and she began to relax a bit about following the rules. I explained to Klaus, Harry, and Ron about my disorder and was surprised to see they didn't turn away from me like I had originally thought. They kept asking about my past and I filled them in on it as much as I felt comfortable with. Harry seemed to be able to relate to me the most on some things and I was glad to have a new friend who understood what I was going through in a different way than Hermione or Klaus.

Speaking of my condition, I received a frantic letter from Renée asking if I wanted to leave until I recovered, but I was truly beginning to enjoy myself now that I had some good friends and I couldn't imagine leaving magic behind. Besides, I promised Dumbledore that I would fight back and I knew I had to do it alone.

I eventually told Klaus and he was supportive.

"I should have realized sooner," he said, after giving me a hug. "I knew you weren't yourself lately, but I thought that if I gave you time, you would heal on your own."

"I wish I was capable of that," I muttered. "I hate feeling like other people have to do it for me."

"Dumbledore isn't doing it for you," Klaus said, "He's helping you heal on your own. I think it might work and I will do everything I can to make sure you're okay. I want you to heal as much as you do. In fact, I asked Renée to send me some books on PTSD. If we read them, we would be able to better understand it and you could get better."

"But I don't understand why it was just me," I said, "Why didn't you develop the disorder? Or Violet? Or Sunny? We all went through the same thing. Why is it only me?"

"PTSD is rare in young people," Klaus said, "That doesn't mean we won't get it eventually. I've already learned a little about it and sometimes childhood trauma resurfaces most commonly in adulthood. Most Veterans don't develop it until they've retired. See, we're just as susceptible as you are. There's nothing to be ashamed of either. There's nothing wrong with you and I know you'll recover." He kissed my forehead.

"I can't even look at my house's mascot without panicking," I said. "Every time I look at it all I see is the bald man…"

I started meeting Dumbledore once a week. I mostly just talked about how my day went and what I was going to do to get better. He kept inviting me to talk about things that were troubling me from my past.

"Whenever you're ready," he would say.

But I knew, no matter how much better I felt in the future, I would never be ready for that.

Despite my reluctance to open up, I still made efforts to improve. Every morning, I would mark my calendar, and each black X represented one more day closer to being free of these chains that bound me. After, I would go for a jog around the grounds, making sure to bundle up against the cold. I was never really the kind of person who jogged, but ever since my newfound resolve, I had a constant restlessness. Jogging made me feel like I was making process even if I truly wasn't. During classes, I tried harder than ever to be successful and even started reading some of the course books like Hermione had. I told Hermione that I wanted to know as much as I could about magic so I could be as good of a student and she was more than willing to lend me the books I needed as well as help me learn spells I was having trouble with.

"I was given a chance to be free and make choices for once," I said to Hermione as we studied in the library late one evening. "I've been sitting back, waiting for something to reach me, but I know now that I have to grasp it myself. If Count Olaf comes back, I'll need magic to defend myself. It's the one thing he can't take from me."

I started staying up late, hiding under my covers with a spellbook practicing and practicing. I knew I could never have the skill that Hermione has, at least not yet, but the spells did become easier to master and I found myself doing it on my own more often. The first time, I taught myself a spell I was so proud of myself that I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

Some days were better than others. I would feel as if I really was recovering and Madam Pomfrey's potion helped keep away the nightmares. But I was only allowed to take it a couple of times a week since it disrupted what she called my REM cycle and taking it every day could give me daytime hallucinations. So I still had to endure my nightmares and I still had trouble focusing sometimes during the day. Mostly around noon, I started seeing Count Olaf everywhere or the sight of an eye made me cringe like I was being scolded. On these days, it seemed everything I had achieved was a waste of effort and I was back to where I had started. Dumbledore said that it was normal to feel like this now and that in time my efforts would pay off. He didn't tell me how long that would take and in my mind, it seemed like it would take years.

November was also the start of Quidditch season and Harry Potter was preparing to play in his first match against Slytherin. I could tell he was getting nervous, being the youngest to ever play, especially as the Seeker. Hermione lent him _Quidditch Through the Ages_ to help him and it definitely calmed his nerves a bit. Then, Snape took it away from him because he brought it outside of the school even though I'm pretty sure a number of students were carrying library books outside.

When Harry went to ask for the book back, he saw Snape with a gash on his leg saying that it was the three-headed dog that bit him. He thinks that Snape is trying to get past the three-headed dog and that he was to blame for the troll. I had to agree with Hermione though, that Snape probably wouldn't go against Dumbledore's wishes like that. Dumbledore seemed to have something like a sixth sense where he could practically read your mind. In one of our meetings, he started talking about how I had another nightmare the previous night without me telling him. It didn't seem like much could go unnoticed to Dumbledore.

The Quidditch match arrived after a few days and Harry was so nervous he refused to eat any breakfast. Ron, Hermione, and I said goodbye to Harry and went to go make a poster with Seamus, Neville, and Dean. We made our way over to the stands, which were raised high in the air. I met up with Klaus who no longer had Fiona following him everywhere and Melissa came over too.

The match started and Gryffindor was in the lead, thanks to Angelina Johnson. Hagrid came to join us, wanting to get a better view of the game rather than watch from his hut. After a bit, I saw Harry dive for the snitch but Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team's captain blocked him, nearly knocking him off of his broom. Luckily, Madam Hooch declared it as a foul and Alicia Spinnet scored. The game turned around though, when Flint scored for the Slytherins. That was when my eyes moved to Harry again. He was moving way up high in the air, higher than he needed to and his broom was jerking this way and that.

"Dunno what Harry thinks he's doing," Hagrid mumbled, looking through his binoculars. "If I didn' know better, I'd say he'd lost control of his broom... but he can't have..."

"Maybe he was cursed," I said.

Harry was now dangling from his broom, holding on with only one hand.

"Did something happen to it when Flint blocked him?" Seamus whispered.

"Can't have," Hagrid said, his voice shaking. "Can't nothing interfere with a broomstick except powerful Dark magic - no kid could do that to a Nimbus Two Thousand."

Hermione grabbed Hagrid's binoculars and surveyed the crowd.

"What are you doing?" Ron moaned looking worried.

"I knew it," Hermione gasped, "Snape - look."

Ron grabbed the binoculars. He looked through and gasped before passing them to me. I looked through and found Snape, who sat in the stands opposite us. He was staring right at Harry and muttering something under his breath. I let out my own gasp. I couldn't believe it. I knew Snape was terrible, but I never imagined he would try to harm a student like that.

"He's doing something - jinxing the broom," said Hermione.

"What should we do?" Ron asked.

"Leave it to me. Come on, Jamie."

I followed Hermione through the crowd and to the row just behind where Snape was sitting. As Hermione dragged me along, I accidentally knocked into Professor Quirrell headfirst into the row in front. We crouched down and Hermione pulled out her wand. She muttered a spell and bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Snape's robes.

Snape almost immediately saw the flames and yelped. I had the jar ready and scooped the blue flames inside before hurrying back to the others. I saw that Harry had regained control of his broom.

"Neville, you can look!" Ron said. Neville had been crying into Hagrid's jacket.

Harry was racing toward the ground and then, clapped his hand to his mouth, looking like he was about to be sick. He fell forward, hitting the ground on all fours, and coughed. Out came something gold.

"I've got the Snitch!" Harry shouted, as he waved it above his head. Everyone looked on in confusion.

Gryffindor had won the match. 170 points to 60.

"He didn't catch it, he nearly swallowed it," Flint was crying for twenty minutes after the game ended. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I went over to Hagrid's hut for some nice hot tea to celebrate. I asked Klaus to come along. He hadn't really met Hagrid yet.

"It was Snape," Ron was explaining, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"Rubbish," said Hagrid, who apparently didn't know about anything that had happened next to him in the stands. "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

We exchanged glances, wondering what to say.

"I found out something about him," Harry told Hagrid. "He tried to get past that three-headed dog on Halloween. It bit him. We think he was trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

Hagrid dropped the teapot. "How do you know about Fluffy?" he said.

"It's name is_ Fluffy_?" I said.

"Yeah - he's mine - bought him off a Greek chappie I met in the pub las' year - I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—"

"Yes?" said Harry eagerly.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," Hagrid said, gruffly. "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to steal it," Harry said.

"Rubbish," Hagrid said again. "Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"So why did he just try and kill Harry?" Hermione cried.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I know he hates Harry, but I didn't think he wanted to kill him. But if this is true, then we can't just stand by and let it happen without doing anything to stop him."

"I know a jinx when I see one, Hagrid," Hermione said, "I've read all about them!

You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"Yes that's true," Klaus backed her up. "I've also read all about them and that definitely looked like a jinx."

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" said Hagrid hotly. "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all five of yeh - yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' you forget what it's guardin', that's between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel -"

"Aha!" said Harry, "so there's someone called Nicolas Flamel involved, is there?"

Hagrid looked furious with himself.

* * *

**Review!**


End file.
